Twelve years on from that epic gold medal-winning performance at the Olympic Games of London 2012, Alistair Brownlee will bid for more triathlon glory in the UK capital.
The 36-year-old British superstar retired from short-course racing in 2021 after an epic career which brought him golds at both those home Games of 2012, and the ones in Rio in 2016.
Since then Brownlee has been hampered by a series of injuries in his step up to middle and long distances. Including a pair of ankle operations.
Now Alistair will head a spectacular field for the first T100 race staged by the PTO in London, to take place on Sunday July 28. It’s a race he has been targeting all season as the one which could provide him that elusive first win over the 100km distance (2km swim, 80km bike and 18km run).
So far this season Brownlee has started three T100 races – he claimed fifth in Miami, was a DNF in Singapore and most recently came home 14th in San Francisco.
This time though, he has high hopes of improving on those results – for multiple reasons.
He said: “Racing in London holds very special memories for me, for obvious reasons. I think the conditions will give me the best opportunity to win a T100 race this season.
“I like the course, the temperature will be what I’m used to and I know the home crowd will come out and support us, which can make a huge difference.”
Brownlee will face some serious opposition on July 28, with a galaxy of stars lining up to take him on. They are headed by Danish star Magnus Ditlev and American ‘Big Unit’ Sam Long.
The field has added spice with the presence of Brownlee’s great short-course rival Javier Gomez (Spain), while last year’s big winner in Ibiza, Aussie Max Neumann, returns from more than a year out due to injury.
T100 start list – Pro Men
- Sam Long (USA)
- Magnus Ditlev (DEN)
- Mathis Margirier (FRA)
- Peter Heemeryck (BEL)
- Rudy Von Berg (USA)
- Rico Bogen (GER)
- Alistair Brownlee (GBR)
- Jason West (USA)
- Aaron Royle (AUS)
- David McNamee (GBR)
- Frederic Funk (GER)
- Clement Mignon (FRA)
- Ben Kanute (USA)
- Leon Chevalier (FRA)
- Sam Laidlow (FRA)
- Javier Gomez (ESP)
- Max Neumann (AUS)
- Daniel Baekkegard (DEN)
- Kyle Smith (NZL)
- Youri Keulen (NED)
T100 London Course
The marquee London race features a closed-road course taking place entirely within central London, with the women racing at 2pm local time on Saturday 27 July and the men at 2pm local time on Sunday July 28.
Starting and finishing at the ExCel London Exhibition Centre, the swim is in the sheltered Royal Victoria Dock; there’s a multi-lap bike course from Docklands to Westminster and back; and it finishes with a multi-lap run around the Docklands.
Wildcards for both the men’s and women’s pro races will be announced at the end of this week.
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