See The Brownlee Brother's Heartbreaking Finish
See The Brownlee Brother's Heartbreaking Finish
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RIO DE JANEIRO - There is a heroic story that remains of the 2016 Rio Olympic events. In what may prove to be one of the greatest sporting images in the modern era, Jonny Brownlee was carried over the triathlon finishing line by his brother Alistair.
Just 700 metre from the finish line and closing in on a famous victory at the World Triathlon Series, Jonny (26) began to lose control of his legs as heat stroke and exhaustion left him dazed, confused and disoriented as he began to grind to a halt.
However, with his brother and Olympic gold medalist Alistair (28) just behind him in third, Jonny Brownlee was still able to finish the race in second place as his elder brother carried him the remaining distance and over the line in Mexico.
Despite their heroic efforts, the Yorkshire brothers were beaten to the win by the eventual winner South African Henri Schoeman.
Victory in the race would have made Jonny world champion, but second place left him just four points behind Spaniard Maria Mola who claimed fifth place to take the title. Even so, fans have still named the pair as two of the greatest sportsmen ever in the aftermath.
Alistair claimed his heroic gesture was nothing more than ‘natural reaction’ after he spotted his brother in danger so close to the finish line.
"If he’d conked out before the finish line and there wasn’t medical support it could have been really dangerous," Alistair said.
"It was a natural human reaction to my brother but for anyone I would have done the same thing. I think it’s as close to death as you can be in sport," he added.
Despite the magnitude of the situation, Alistair couldn’t resist bringing out some of his Yorkshire humour by joking that his brother should have won the race:
"I wish the flipping idiot had just paced it right and won the race. He could have jogged the last 2 km," he added.
Just 700 metre from the finish line and closing in on a famous victory at the World Triathlon Series, Jonny (26) began to lose control of his legs as heat stroke and exhaustion left him dazed, confused and disoriented as he began to grind to a halt.
However, with his brother and Olympic gold medalist Alistair (28) just behind him in third, Jonny Brownlee was still able to finish the race in second place as his elder brother carried him the remaining distance and over the line in Mexico.
Despite their heroic efforts, the Yorkshire brothers were beaten to the win by the eventual winner South African Henri Schoeman.
Victory in the race would have made Jonny world champion, but second place left him just four points behind Spaniard Maria Mola who claimed fifth place to take the title. Even so, fans have still named the pair as two of the greatest sportsmen ever in the aftermath.
Alistair claimed his heroic gesture was nothing more than ‘natural reaction’ after he spotted his brother in danger so close to the finish line.
"If he’d conked out before the finish line and there wasn’t medical support it could have been really dangerous," Alistair said.
"It was a natural human reaction to my brother but for anyone I would have done the same thing. I think it’s as close to death as you can be in sport," he added.
Despite the magnitude of the situation, Alistair couldn’t resist bringing out some of his Yorkshire humour by joking that his brother should have won the race:
"I wish the flipping idiot had just paced it right and won the race. He could have jogged the last 2 km," he added.
(rnz)
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