Alistair Brownlee pays tribute as triathlon great Javier Gómez announces his retirement

Legendary Spanish triathlete Javier Gómez has announced his retirement from the sport.

He has enjoyed a groundbreaking career ever since announcing his name on the global stage when he took the U23 world title in 2003.

He won his first senior world title in Vancouver in 2008, he repeated the feat in 2010 and then became the first triathlete to win three consecutive world titles between 2013 and 2015.

This of course was in the Brownlee era where Alistair and Jonny were setting remarkable records of their own – and Gómez would split the pair as Alistair won gold and Jonny bronze on home roads at the 2012 Olympics in London.

A broken arm would rule Gómez out of a rematch with the brothers as they took a one-two at the Rio Olympics, with Alistair defending his crown.

Legendary battles

Gómez also racked up the wins at middle distance, with two of the highlights his IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship crowns in 2014 and 2017, just getting the better of Jan Frodeno in the first of those.

Frodeno, Alistair Brownlee and Gómez then took first, second and third respectively in an epic edition of that race in 2018.

But injuries have restricted Gómez’s appearances in recent years – though he had been scheduled to resume his rivalry with Alistair Brownlee at T100 Ibiza this weekend.

That won’t now happen after his announcement and explaining the decision on his Instagram page, alongside a lovely film looking back on his career, he said: “After 26 years of racing triathlon I want to let you all know that I am retiring as a professional athlete at the end of this season.

“While it’s never an easy decision, I know that it’s the right thing to do. I love our sport and I love training everyday, but my body has been struggling to cope with the amount of load that is required to be able to be competitive at the highest level.

“My body has been pushed to its limits for many years and I have had a career that not even in my craziest dreams I could have imagined but I think it’s time to take a step back. I’ll keep doing this amazing sport but with a bit less intensity and stress.”

What’s next for Javier Gómez?

In terms of the rest of 2024, he added: “Hopefully I’ll do one or two more races before the end of the season, but not at the highest level.

“I’m super grateful for the opportunity that the PTO gave me to compete the T100 this year and tried my very best to be at my highest level for these events. But the reality is that I wasn’t able to achieve that, for one reason or another. I got sick right before Miami, my mum passed when I was already in Singapore, between different injuries that didn’t allow me to race in London or perform well in San Francisco… I gave it everything, but it just hasn’t worked, so it’s time to step back and take things easier.

“Thanks everyone for the support throughout all these years, it has been a wild ride!!

“This is not a goodbye as I’m sure I will see you all around, my journey will continue to be linked to triathlon.”

Not surprisingly the tributes have poured in from across the sport and one of the first to comment was Alistair Brownlee.

He said: “Congratulations on an amazing career, Javi. I’m grateful for the countless battles we had, you constantly pushed those you raced to be better 👊”