2013 Memorable Moments: Alistair's got guts

by Erin Greene on 28 Dec, 2013 10:47 • Español
2013 Memorable Moments: Alistair's got guts

Injuries cause athletes to withdraw from races all the time and rightfully so. Competing on an injury can end a career if an athlete takes it too far. But Alistair Brownlee would show no signs of calling it quits at the London Grand Final, making his race finish one of our “Best of 2013” moments.

Alistair had been struggling with an Achilles injury all year and it finally caught up with him in the last stage of the last race of the year. After pushing the pace on the swim and bike, Alistair was left winching in pain from the moment he started the 10km run. The injury caused the Olympic gold medallist to be dropped through the field, going from first down to the bottom of the pack and ending any chances of becoming world champion. Rather than bowing out gracefully, he fought through the pain barrier to make sure he finished the race. Always the straight-talker, Alistair said afterwards, “I’ve never pulled out of a race in my life, and I wasn’t going to start now.”

But if Alistair couldn’t win, he was going to do everything he could to make sure his kid brother, whom he once lovingly dubbed ‘Numpty’, kept the World Championship title in the family. Knowing he was out of the running (see what we did there?) for the crown himself, Alistair only slowed when Jonathan ran past him with Javier Gomez on his heels. Every time his brother and training partner ran by, Alistair bellowed out advice, taunts, and cheers.

“I was telling him to race smart and keep his head,” Alistair later explained after the race. 

In the end, it didn’t help Jonathan win the race or defend his world title, but it did win Alistair Best Big Brother of the Year award - even if he has a particular way of showing his brotherly support.

With files from Adam Petrie


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Related Event: 2013 ITU World Triathlon Grand Final London
11 - 15 Sep, 2013 • event pageall results
Results: Elite Men
1. Javier Gomez Noya ESP 01:48:16
2. Jonathan Brownlee GBR 01:48:17
3. Mario Mola ESP 01:49:10
4. Dmitry Polyanskiy RUS 01:49:21
5. Vincent Luis FRA 01:49:24
Results: Elite Women
1. Non Stanford GBR 02:01:32
2. Aileen Reid IRL 02:01:57
3. Emma Moffatt AUS 02:02:00
4. Jodie Stimpson GBR 02:02:06
5. Alice Betto ITA 02:02:09
Results: Junior Men
1. Dorian Coninx FRA 00:51:57
2. Marc Austin GBR 00:52:00
3. Grant Sheldon GBR 00:52:01
4. Raphael Montoya FRA 00:52:19
5. Gordon Benson GBR 00:52:25
Results: Junior Women
1. Tamara Gorman USA 00:57:08
2. Georgia Taylor-Brown GBR 00:57:31
3. Laura Lindemann GER 00:57:34
4. Jaz Hedgeland AUS 00:57:39
5. Sumire Ohara JPN 00:57:51
Results: U23 Men
1. Pierre Le Corre FRA 01:42:47
2. Fernando Alarza ESP 01:42:51
3. Declan Wilson AUS 01:42:55
4. Igor Polyanskiy RUS 01:43:16
5. Matthias Steinwandter ITA 01:43:27
Results: U23 Women
1. Charlotte McShane AUS 01:55:38
2. Ellen Pennock CAN 01:55:39
3. Amelie Kretz CAN 01:55:41
4. Hanna Philippin GER 01:55:43
5. Joanna Brown CAN 01:55:49
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