LONDON (Reuters) – Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee said their target for 2019 is to have a “dull year” as they tentatively return to complete fitness following a dire run of injuries that left the British brothers in large part as triathlon also-rans in 2018.
It sounds a modest ambition for the duo, who have Olympic glory, international titles and a string of status race wins to their names, however, after spending their whole lives competing in opposition to each other in a number of sports activities, they are now going head-to-head over who had the most debilitating year on the damage the front.
On Friday, Jonny declared 2018 “the worst year of my career”, handiest for big brother Alistair to chip in with: “I in all likelihood had a worse one.”
Such is the intensity concerned in education complete time for swimming, biking and walking that accidents are a part of a triathlete’s life. However, those weeks and months spent in rehabilitation method that after they do sooner or later get everything in running order, they revel in just being able to race.
“I were given injured at the begin of the yr and wasn’t on a podium in a large race the complete 12 months,” Jonny told Reuters.
“This is the primary time for approximately 14 months that I haven’t had any sort of niggles – I’m touching masses of wooden now. I’ve been capable of train properly on account that November and thus far this 12 months’ long past well.

“I’m looking ahead to an excellent steady yr – only a dull yr, that’s what I need, in which I’ve got no accidents and can just educate and race nicely. I’ll, in reality, take a yr with none screw-ups,” introduced Jonny, who became speakme at London’s Triathlon Show, backed through OTE Sports.
The yr has started out well for Jonny with a February victory inside the Singapore leg of the sport’s new Super League layout, providing more than one quick-distance activities with new standards consisting of eliminators, reverse-order races, and handicapped startlines.
“To race properly there, and greater importantly sense correct, changed into very encouraging,” he stated of his triumph in an event he describes as: “fun racing – new, interesting, unique, brief and rapid.”
OLYMPIC DREAM
Having stated that, Jonny, the younger Brownlee at 28, stated he remained dedicated to the 1,500m swim, 40km motorcycle and 10km run conventional distance, wherein he has a silver and bronze medal from the ultimate Olympics and is dreaming of completing his series in Tokyo next year.
Whether he might be again racing towards his brother – gold medallist on the London and Rio Games – remains one of the most up to date subjects of the game.
Alistair has but to decide whether to bid for the golden hat-trick or maintain his test into longer distances with an eye on the Ironman global championships in Hawaii.
Despite his injury travails in the wake of hip surgical treatment overdue in 2017, he produced a great performance to take silver in ultimate September’s half of-Ironman global championships, in the back of 2008 triathlon Olympic gold medallist Jan Frodeno of Germany, who has efficiently made the step up and triumphed two times in Hawaii.
“I was pleased with that race and I’ve had a very good three or four months education after possibly an even worse yr than Jonny,” Alistair said, adding that he was in no rush to determine on his lengthy-term racing plans.
“My priority absolutely is to stay damage-unfastened,” he stated. “I’m actually nonetheless preserving the door for the Olympics open but the very method of focussing on a race, where you train a chunk harder and get extra particular, the method the risk of over-schooling and harm goes up vastly – particularly now I’m in my 30s (he turns 31 next month).
“So, rather, I’m specializing in education consistently and taking part in it and that’s been precise up to now. If in a year or 14 months, if I’m not injured, and there may be the opportunity of going to the Olympics, then I’ll be pretty glad about that.”
New to the Olympic programme in 2020 is the combined relay, an event the brothers revel in and where they took gold for England on the 2014 Commonwealth Games along Jodie Stimpson and Vicky Holland, and silver final yr.
“It’s wonderful amusing, there’s that group element you don’t get tons someplace else in triathlon, Jonny stated. “It’s short and rapid and may be very tactical and technical – the margins are tight and a messed transition or getting a penalty messes up the complete group’s chances and next yr could ruin a medal risk.
“So that excessive-stress scenario makes it thrilling and if Britain can get it right then there may be a genuinely appropriate medal chance in Tokyo.”
(Reporting by Mitch Phillips, modifying via Pritha Sarkar)