I’VE BEEN THERE!
Alistair rescued brother after recalling his own ordeal
ALISTAIR Brownlee revealed yesterday that he feared his younger brother Jonny was in a lifethreatening condition as he collapsed at a triathlon in Mexico on Sunday — and admitted his rescue act was inspired by memories of rivals leaving him helpless six years ago.
In a stunning piece of sportsmanship that has elevated Alistair into the running for Sports Personality of the Year, the double Olympic champion spotted his brother teetering, barely conscious, near the finish of the final World Triathlon Series race and supported him the rest of the way.
It is likely Alistair would have won the race had he not stopped, but instead the 28-year-old finished third, dropping his brother, 26, over the line ahead of him in second, while South African Henri Schoeman took the tape. A win for Jonny Brownlee would have given him the World Series overall.
Reflecting yesterday on the incredible episode, videos of which have been viewed more than 40 million times, Alistair said: ‘The loyalty thing is important, but more important is that sport is fantastic up to a line and once someone is in a bad way you’ve gone over that line.
‘You’re not really racing them any more. I didn’t really see it like I was racing Jonny any more because he was in that state.
‘It would have been unfair to beat him in that state. Also it was a pretty serious, life-threatening situation. To get him over the line is the right thing to do.’
The older brother had found himself in a similar state of exhaustion in the Hyde Park triathlon in 2010.
The fact none of his rivals stopped to help him had a direct impact on the stunning scenes in Mexico.
Brownlee added: ‘I didn’t really think too much about what I did. I’ve been in that position before, in London six years ago. I remember being in second trying to win the race and then waking up and being told I’d come 10th. I was like, “Why didn’t all those people who came past me help me out?” So I didn’t give it a second thought. I just had to help him.
‘Sport is a beast with two heads. You have to be the most massively competitive person, but then there is the room to do special things as well.
‘It was literally a spur of the moment decision to do the right thing. I sat for an hour after the race thinking, “Did I do the right thing? Would he have received medical attention quicker if I’d just left him? Is it the wrong thing to carry someone over the line?”
‘But the reaction has been nice to reassure me that maybe it was the right thing to do. I turned my phone on the next morning and it went a bit mad, buzzing away with tweets and messages from people.
‘It’s fantastic. But I think both of us are actually thinking this isn’t really what you want to be remembered for because, at the end of the day, Jonny did lose the World Series.’
The worry for the younger sibling is that he could forever be remembered for ‘looking like a wobbly horse’.
‘I remember it all very clearly,’ said Jonny Brownlee yesterday, when asked to recall the extraordinary finale in 33 degree heat. ‘The whole race went very, very well until about 1.5km to go. And then it all kind of fell apart.
‘I remember my legs going a little bit wobbly and thinking, “I’m not going to make it to the finish line”.
‘I remember Alistair coming past me and saying, “You can make it”. And then my last memory is falling over the finish line and getting carried off.
‘The last 200 metres seemed to take a long, long time. You’re not really thinking straight. I was just thinking, “I need someone to hold me up”.
‘At one point, I was thinking, “Thank you Alistair”, and half of me was thinking, “Just leave me alone, let me fall to the floor and I’d get to rest”.’
He added: ‘I don’t want to be remembered as the guy who looked like a wobbly horse down the finishing line, but hopefully for what I’ve done in the Olympics and other good races.
‘At the end of the day, I’m a competitor and I wanted to win the World Championship.’
‘I didn’t give it a second thought, I had to help’ ‘I don’t want to be known as the wobbly horse!’