Brownlee brothers swell Team GB’S medal haul
WIN GOLD AND BRONZE IN TRIATHLON, DEMPSEY SILVER IN WINDSURFING
Alistair Brownlee became the first Briton to win a medal in an Olympic triathlon when he took gold with an emphatic front-running display around Hyde Park in central London yesterday.
Brownlee, 24, became the 19th British gold medallist of the London Olympics, matching the gold tally won by the team at the Beijing Games four years ago.
His younger brother Jonathan completed another piece of Olympic history when he finished third despite incurring a 15-second penalty for a rule infringement. He ended the race collapsed in a heap and needing lengthy medical treatment.
The Brownlees, who were split at the finish by former world champion Javier Gomez of Spain, are the first siblings to feature on the Olympic medal podium together in an individual event in more than 50 years.
“I was just so excited to get out and race and obviously I got the result I wanted,” Alistair said before the medal ceremony that was delayed for more than 30 minutes as his brother received treatment for exhaustion.
“We knew he had a penalty early on in the bike and I was just telling Jonny ‘don’t worry about it, calm down, you can still easily get on the podium with a 15-second penalty’.
“I took the first lap of the run out really hard to try and get Jonny as far away from the others as he can and hopefully Gomez. Gomez was having a great race today and so there
T R I P L E
J U M P
was not much about that.”
Meanwhile, windsurfer Nick Dempsey — a bronze medallist in 2004 but who narrowly missed out on a podium place in 2008 — won silver behind Dutchman Dorian van Rijsselberghe after finishing third in the last race to be held at the Olympics. Windsurfing will be replaced by kitesurfing at Rio in 2016.
On Monday night, Jason Kenny destroyed triple world champion Gregory Bauge to win the Olympic track cycling sprint title as the home nation’s
we
could
do velodrome ued.
Kenny, preferred to 2008 champion Chris Hoy as the British entrant, fully justified his selection, winning 2-0 in front of a baying crowd, who roared him home to claim Britain’s fifth track cycling gold medal of the Games.
“It’s amazing. I hadn’t thought about it until the last lap, then it suddenly dawned on me,” Kenny told reporters.
“It was quite the battle to get here with Chris. I didn’t want to mess that one up. I was really pleased. I just did it for the
gold
rush
contin- team. It’s pretty amazing.”
Elsewhere, gymnast Beth Tweddle — a major doubt for the games after knee surgery just three months ago — won bronze on the asymmetric bars, becoming the first British woman to get an individual Olympic gymnastics medal.
“It’s the one medal that I’m missing from my collection,” Tweddle said after finishing 0.217 points behind new champion Aliya Mustafina of Russia.
“I always said I don’t care what colour it is. I’m made up with the bronze.”