Jonny Brownlee has given an emotional and classy response to the news that he has not been selected for Team GB in the Olympic Games triathlon at Paris 2024.
Wednesday’s (June 19) announcement marks the end of an era – the first time in 20 years that there will be an Olympic Games without either Jonny or his brother Alistair taking part.
Jonny is the most decorated triathlete in Olympic history. In his first Games he won bronze behind Alistair in front of huge home crowds in London in 2012 and then silver when the Yorkshire legends went one-two in Rio four years later.
And he completed the set by striking gold in the Mixed Team Relay in Tokyo.
That performance – he clocked the fastest leg that day – had prompted Jonny to bid for a fourth successive Games appearance in Paris but the second and final men’s place alongside Alex Yee has been given to 26-year-old Sam Dickinson.
‘I will be supporting the Team’
The call was a discretionary one for the three-person GB selection panel – and clearly finely balanced – but in typically measured style, Brownlee has taken it on the chin.
Writing on his Instagram page he said: “I have not been selected for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
“The Tokyo mixed team relay was one of the many highlights of my career and I still believe I could have helped Team GB win another medal in Paris.
“I will be supporting the Team in whatever way I can and really hope they go on to defend the title!”
Brownlee is the nominated reserve on the men’s side in case of illness or injury.
‘An unwritten chapter’
And while it’s not the “fairytale ending” in terms of the Olympics that the 34-year-old was hoping for, he underlined that he still has plenty to look forward to in the sport.
He continued: “I have achieved more than I could ever have imagined in my Olympic career.
“After 99 world triathlon starts, 52 podiums and 3 Olympic medals, it’s not the fairytale ending that I’d wished for, but Paris was always a bonus, and it can be the unwritten chapter of an incredible book!
“I have a great summer to look forward to and some exciting racing ahead.”
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