World Champion triathlete and double Olympic gold medalist Alistair Brownlee has shared the most important piece of advice that he was given during the early stages of his career.
The Yorkshireman, looking back on when it was first announced that London had won the bid for the 2012 Olympic Games, recounted the sage advice he received from long time mentor Malcolm Brown in 2005.
The triathlon legend, who was still a schoolboy at the time, shared how that one piece of advice stayed with him throughout the endless miles of swim, bike and run as he put in the work that would eventually come to fruition some seven years later.
“I had no chance of being an Olympic athlete”
In a candid revelation, Brownlee said that despite being a successful junior athlete at the time the success of the bid was announced, he didn’t believe it would ever be possible for him to qualify for an Olympic Games.
“By the time I was seventeen, I was a runner for most of the winter and a triathlete in the summer. I was regularly competing for my country and travelling to events all over the world.
“That year, 2005, London won the bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games. It must have been on a school day because the first I heard about it was from a teacher in a school corridor. “Brownlee, have you seen London has won the bid? Wouldn’t it be fantastic for this school if you were there?
“Yes, indeed it would! I thought. But, the possibility of me making it felt so far off that the winning bid was irrelevant. I had no chance of being an Olympic athlete.”
Despite his initial misgivings about his chances of becoming an Olympian, a change of mindset occurred after a conversation with Coach Brown that planted the seed in his mind that would eventually lead him to greatness.
“The message was clear – believe you can win an Olympic gold medal”
After London had won the bid, Brownlee was down training at a local track where following a particular session, Brown pulled him to one side and delivered his words of wisdom.
“Just after London won the bid, I remember him putting an arm around me after one particular session. ‘You have to believe you can win in London, but… only by a stride’. It was one of, if not THE, most important things that has ever been said to me.
“The message was clear, believe you can win an Olympic gold medal, but you’re going to have to train very hard over the next seven years to be even in with a chance.”
After that conversation, the London and Rio Olympic Games champion said that the upcoming home games was on his mind every day for the next seven years, with the belief that was instilled then still playing a huge part in his mentality to this day.
“The Olympic Games became just a little bit more relevant to me. It’s probably no exaggeration to say I thought about that race in London every day for those seven years in some shape or form.
Belief is important, but not having too much was even more important for me. I’m carrying belief into 2024, but not too much!”
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