Alistair Brownlee has endured another frustrating season so far, but there appears to be light at the end of the tunnel.
Britain’s two-time Olympic triathlon champion has been hampered by injuries ever since bowing out from short-course racing in 2021. Notably with a pair of ankle surgeries.
In 2024, the 36-year-old legend of the sport put the focus squarely on the newly-minted T100 series from the PTO – but as yet he awaits his first podium finish at the 100km distance.
Frustrating start to 2024
Alistair started the year with a fifth in the brutal heat of Miami, followed by a DNF in Singapore and 14th in San Francisco. But hopes were high as he zeroed in on a home race in London in July.
Sadly a puncture on the bike leg destroyed any podium hopes in the capital, ruining Brownlee’s bid to channel those London 2012 vibes once again. He was on to Ibiza, where once again he would be a major story, sadly for the wrong reasons.
This time Alistair made history by becoming the first athlete to receive a drafting penalty in a T100 race, with the 60-second punishment again scuppering those podium hopes. He would eventually come home in fourth position.
Brownlee upbeat after Ibiza
But afterwards Brownlee was upbeat about the way he had felt during the race – admitting: “So good to finally have a solid race that I’m proud of. I felt like my body was firing as it should for the first time in a long time!”
Now Alistair has provided further proof that things may now be heading in the right direction for him as he prepares for the next big test – T100 Lake Las Vegas on Saturday week (October 19). It came in the shape of his run, and how he finished the race looking and feeling strong.
Writing in a post on his Instagram account, he revealed: “After putting the penalty out of my mind, and starting the run in sixth, I gave myself the realistic goal of finishing fourth.
“I was really pleased with how I felt throughout the whole run and it was only when I got to the last lap that I was quite annoyed at myself for how fresh I felt and that I could’ve gone harder…but given previous race, maybe that means I paced it just right😂.”