30 Facts About Alistair Brownlee

Alistair Edward Brownlee was born on 23 April 1988 and is an English former triathlete.

Alistair Brownlee is the only athlete to hold two Olympic titles in the individual triathlon event, winning gold medals in the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games.

Alistair Brownlee is a four-time World Champion in triathlon being Triathlon World Champion twice and World Team Champion twice, a four-time European Champion, and the 2014 Commonwealth champion.

Alistair Brownlee is widely regarded as one of the greatest male Triathletes ever.

Alistair Brownlee's younger brother Jonathan Brownlee is a decorated triathlete.

Alistair Brownlee was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to sport.

Alistair Brownlee then started a medicine degree at Girton College, Cambridge, but left after just the first term having decided instead to study Sports Science and Physiology at the University of Leeds, where he gained his degree in 2010.

Alistair Brownlee completed a MSc in Finance in 2013 at Leeds Metropolitan University.

Alistair Brownlee's father Keith was a runner, while his mother Cathy was a swimmer.

Alistair Brownlee's younger brother Jonathan Brownlee is a triathlete, winning the bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics, the silver medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics, and a gold medal in the mixed relay triathlon at the 2020 Summer Olympics and his youngest brother Edward is a keen sportsman but prefers rugby and water polo over the triathlon.

Alistair Brownlee was introduced to triathlon at a young age by his uncle Simon Hearnshaw, who regularly competed in the sport.

Alistair Brownlee has said that "It was only when I won the World Junior Championships in 2006 that I made the conscious decision to really focus on triathlon".

Alistair Brownlee was a member of the triathlon club based at Leeds Metropolitan University's Carnegie High Performance centre, and was coached by Carnegie Director of Sport Malcolm Brown, and in swimming by Jack Maitland.

In 2025 Alistair Brownlee received an honorary degree from the University of York.

Alistair Brownlee represented Great Britain at the 2008 Summer Olympics in the triathlon event, finishing in 12th place and first British competitor.

Alistair Brownlee won the 2009 ITU Triathlon World Championship, winning all five of the season's ITU World Championship Series events in which he competed.

Alistair Brownlee did however mark his return to competitive triathlon with a convincing win in Madrid, followed a month later with the European Triathlon Union Championships title.

Alistair Brownlee won the 2011 ITU world title, after winning the Grand Final in Beijing and the gold medal at the London 2012 Olympics, while his brother took the bronze medal.

Alistair Brownlee won the Commonwealth Games Triathlon in 2014, controlling the race with his brother from the start, before pulling away on the first lap of the run in dominating style; Jonathan took the silver medal.

Alistair Brownlee took gold in the mixed triathlon team relay at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, with brother Jonathan, Vicky Holland and Jodie Stimpson.

Alistair Brownlee abandoned his own chance of winning the race, instead opting to assist his brother over the line, finally pushing him to a second-place finish and coming in third himself.

Alistair Brownlee made his long-course debut at the half-iron distance Challenge Mogan-Gran Canaria triathlon in April 2017, which he won in a time of 4:03:09, finishing over eight minutes ahead of the runner-up.

Alistair Brownlee took another win the following month when he triumphed in the North American Ironman 70.3 Championships in St George, Utah, which secured his place in the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in September 2017.

Alistair Brownlee placed second at the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in 2018 and 2019.

Alistair Brownlee announced his retirement from triathlon on 21 November 2024.

At the opening triathlon in Dunkirk, Alistair Brownlee was not present, his brother Jonathan won the gold medal.

At the Triathlon de Paris and at Tourangeaux, Alistair Brownlee won the gold medals again.

At the Grand Final in La Baule, Alistair Brownlee placed 2nd, Jonathan 3rd, and their rival Javier Gomez Noya won gold.

In 2011, Alistair Brownlee took part in the French Club Championship Series Lyonnaise des Eaux representing the club ECS Triathlon, which, thanks to the Alistair Brownlee brothers and Javier Gomez Noya, had already won the Club Championship in 2010.

At Nice, Dunkirk, and Paris Alistair Brownlee was the winner.