I would have helped anyone, not just Jonny
Heroic Alistair Brownlee says...
ALISTAIR Brownlee last night insisted he would have helped any exhausted rival triathlete — and not just his brother — across the finishing line.
The double Olympic gold medallist was talking after pictures of his astonishing act of sportsmanship in the last World Series event of the season went viral.
Alistair gave up his own chance of winning the race in Mexico to carry brother Jonny — on the point of collapse in the searing heat — across the line in an effort to help him win the world title.
Alistair suffered similar drama in Hyde Park in 2010, and he said: ‘It’s an awful position to be in. If he’d conked out before the finish line and there wasn’t medical support it could have been really dangerous.
‘It was a natural human reaction to my brother but for anyone I would have done the same thing. I think it’s as close to death as you can be in sport.’
Jonny was leading comfortably heading into the final kilometre of the 10km run but then the heat began to take its toll and he started to weave across the course.
South African Henri Schoeman, who won bronze behind the Brownlees in Rio, overtook Jonny to win the race.
Jonny appeared on the point of collapse at the side of the road but Alistair, who had been running comfortably in third, put his arm around his brother and all but carried him along the final few hundred metres and then pushed him across the line.
His effort was in vain as far as the title was concerned as Spaniard Mario Mola finished fifth, enough to win the title by four points. Last night Jonny was recovering in hospital from severe dehydration, and appeared in good spirits as he tweeted from his hospital bed.
Alongside a video of the dramatic end to the race, he wrote: ‘Normally when you have had too much to drink. This time it was the opposite #ouch.’
He posted a picture of himself giving a thumbs-up sign as he lay in hospital and a picture of his runnersup trophy, also paying tribute to his brother by saying: ‘Not how I wanted to end the season, but gave it everything. Thanks @AliBrownleetri, your loyalty is incredible.’
An appeal by the Spanish Triathlon Federation to disqualify Jonny Brownlee for accepting assistance to get over the line was dismissed by the International Triathlon Union, citing a rule which states athletes may accept help.
While athletes must complete the course with no outside assistance, they are allowed to accept help from other athletes — fellow competitors often help their rivals with zips when getting out of wetsuits after the swimming section, for instance. Newly-crowned champion Mola admitted the dramatic circumstances of his victory took some of the shine off his success.
He said: ‘First of all this was not how I wanted to win the World Championship. Luckily I was able to be in the top five considering Jonny didn’t win the race.
‘To be honest I was already considering that the role of AIistair was to help Jonny. Considering that, I thought, well, I’m going to be second again, but at least I will fight to the end. ‘When I heard Jonny isn’t feeling well, I thought, “I need to fight to the end”. We want everyone to be safe after the finish line. It’s not the way I wanted it, but that’s triathlon.’ Once he knew Jonny had no serious issues, however, Alistair was more happy to play the role of big brother. ‘I wish the flipping idiot had paced it right and crossed the finish line first,’ he said. ‘He could have jogged that last two kilometres and won the race. You have to race the conditions.’
Alistair’s selfless act attracted praise from around the world and bookmakers cut the odds on the 28-year-old, who won the gold medal in Rio, to be voted the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year.
AS CHILDREN, their rivalry was so intense they raced to empty the dishwasher.
But when Jonny Brownlee, 26, suffered severe heat exhaustion a few hundred yards from clinching the world triathlon title, brotherly love saved him.
Olympic champion Alistair Brownlee, 28, abandoned his chance to win the 10km race to prop up his stricken sibling, who he later described as being ‘as close to death as you can be’ in sport. He helped Jonny down the final straight, and in an act of sporting sacrifice, pushed his brother over the finish line ahead of him, where he immediately collapsed.
The pair had already completed a 1.5km swim and a 40km cycle race in hot and humid conditions. Alistair’s selflessness in Mexico could not stop South African Henri Schoeman from winning the final race of the world series, which handed the overall title to Spaniard Mario Mola. But the
image of the Leeds-born Brownlees will live on in fans’ memories. Jessica Ennis-Hill described the scenes as ‘incredible… sport at its best’.
Jonny, who won silver in Rio behind Alistair, required hospital treatment, but tweeted a picture of himself giving the thumbs up from his bed and thanking his brother for his ‘incredible’ loyalty. Alistair said: ‘It was a natural human reaction’ but then teased his sibling, saying: ‘I wish the flipping idiot had paced it right.’
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