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Powering towards Olympic glory
There are three years to go to the start of the London Olympics and one young man from Yorkshire is making a big impression on the world stage.
"I'll be 24 by the time of the Olympics which will be absolutely perfect in terms of physical strength."
It is an ominous warning from Alistair Brownlee, one that will be greeted with trepidation by his fellow competitors in the world of triathlon.
A little over 12 months ago, Brownlee was a long way from such bold statements about his prospects in the lung-busting environment of cycling, swimming and running.
He had only just scraped into the British team for the Beijing Olympics, and the former junior world and European champion was by no means a global force in the most physically demanding of Olympic disciplines.
Fast forward to the present day and Brownlee marks the three-year countdown to the start of the London 2012 Games at a training camp in Switzerland, out of sight, but not out of mind of the world's finest endurance athletes, who were in Hamburg yesterday trying to close the gap on the 21-year-old from Leeds in the race for the world title.
Victories in Washington, Madrid and Kitzbuhel have seen the seven-time Yorkshire age-group cross-country champion build a commanding lead in the inaugural World Triathlon Series and afforded him the luxury of a week away from the heat of battle.
He is back in competition in London next month, when he hopes to further underline his growing status and gain yet more valuable experience on the streets where in three years he hopes to win Olympic gold.
"It would be amazing to be world champion and to do it at just 21 and in the first year of the series as well would be great," said Brownlee, whose title aspirations come down to the World Series finale in Australia on September 12.
"At the start of the year, the aim was just to get a bit of consistency racing against the best in the world.
"But things have gone really well. I thought the first win was a great result but to have added two more has been absolutely fantastic.
"There's not one thing in particular that I'm doing well, but I put it down to my consistency over winter training.
"I spent most of the winter training at home. My first race wasn't until May so it gave me chance to get that training under my belt. Plus I'm a year older than I was in Beijing and a lot stronger."
Brownlee – who has just finished his final year at Leeds University studying sports science and physiology – finished 12th in the Chinese capital last summer, having at one stage led the event.
He was the highest-placed Briton in the race and departed Beijing galvanised by the Olympic ideal.
"Beijing was an amazing experience, it was fantastic to be out there racing against the best in the world at the pinnacle of the sport," he said. "Triathlon is such a small sport and the meetings are relatively small, so the Olympics for us was such a difference to anything else we've experienced.
"After the race, I was disappointed with how I finished but looking back on it now it was the best I could have done. I learned how to handle the pressure of being in an Olympics but the one thing I left Beijing with was a real motivation to carry on improving."
Improvement at such an alarming rate has taken even Brownlee by surprise, but he has no intention of slowing down as he swims, cycles and runs towards London 2012.
"It's always in the back of your mind," he said. "But three years is quite a while, a lot has happened to me in the last three years so I know there's a lot of hard work still to go.
"I'm taking it one step at a time but London 2012 is definitely the endgame. It'll be fantastic to compete in my home country with home support. I'm really looking forward to it.
"Medalling in an Olympics is every athlete's dream and that's no exception for me. I'll be 24, which will be the perfect age for physical strength. As long as nothing goes wrong with major injuries I should be on course."
Not that he is alone in flying the British flag in triathlon – 19-year-old brother Jonathan is making similarly large strides.
Jonathan was identified as a hot prospect last year and flown to Beijing as part of Britain's development squad. He began repaying that faith earlier this month by winning the European Under-23 title in Holland.
"His goal is the Olympics as well and he's really flying at the minute," said the elder Brownlee. "It would be fantastic to have us both lining up together in the Olympic final, but I think my mum would be quite nervous."
Yorkshire medallists on course
Andy Hodge, 30: Won gold on Shunyi Lake last summer but has switched to the men's pair. He and Pete Reed won first World Cup meeting in Spain but have since come up against formidable opposition in the shape of New Zealand.
Matt Wells, 30: Along with Stephen Rowbotham, won first men's sculls medal for 32 years with bronze in double sculls. Continued that form this season with World Cup win in Spain.
Debbie Flood, 29: Won a second silver in the women's quadruple scull in Beijing but is on a year-long sabbatical before an anticipated return for one last push towards Olympic gold.
Paul Goodison, 31: Currently fourth in the laser World Cup standings, the Beijing gold medallist remains one of the leading lights in the world of sailing and the Olympic competition in three years will be held over his home water at Weymouth.
Ed Clancy, 24: Gold medallist in the men's pursuit, he is concentrating on road cycling this year to build up his stamina and aerobic capacity as he plans to continue British cycling's dominance that was tempered slightly by an average World Championships this year.
Jo Jackson, 22: Bronze medallist in the 400m freestyle in the Water Cube, Jackson broke the 200m world record in Sheffield in March. Took silver yesterday in the 400m freestyle in the World Championships currently taking place in Rome.
Sarah Stevenson, 26: Won bronze at the third attempt amid acrimonious circumstances last year. Back in action now after an injury lay-off and moving into form ahead of October's World Taekwondo Championships.
Yorkshire's ones to watch
Jessica Ennis, 23: Injury robbed the Sheffield heptathlete of a place in Beijing but she has overcome that and heads into next month's World Championships in Berlin in top form.
Ben Swift, 21: Competed in cycling's road race in Beijing and a former Tour of Britain King of the Mountains. Rotherham racer could make his Tour de France debut for the new Great Britain team next year.
Ashley Watson, 16: Young Leeds gymnast won three gold medals and a bronze at the Youth Olympic Festival in Australia at the start of the year.
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Weather for Yorkshire
Friday 10 February 2012
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