Brownlee to bounce back as brother lays down marker for Games

The world champion was the hot favourite to triumph for the second year in a row at the World Championship Series event in Hyde Park but he staggered across the finishing line in 10th place before being rushed to the medical tent.

It was quickly confirmed Brownlee was suffering from nothing more than exhaustion but his dramatic slump, having led with only a few hundred metres of the run left, was a shock.

The 22-year-old from Leeds, who was looking to extend a run of six successive WCS wins, had worked extremely hard during the race, leading the swim before pushing the pace on the bike and then the run.

But when his great rival Javier Gomez kicked for home, it was Brownlee's younger brother Jonny who took up the chase as his sibling battled simply to make it to the finishing line.

Jonny's silver medal was a surprise and ensured the home team were represented on the podium in both elite races after Helen Jenkins's bronze.

But Filliol's delight at the 20-year-old's performance was understandably overshadowed by his brother's troubles.

The Canadian said: "He'll be philosophical about it and so will we. You need some sort of failures to learn from.

"Often that comes through the training process, you find out where your limits are. You don't always want to do it in front of the crowds but I'm sure it will only make him stronger because he's a fantastic athlete.

"Like all champions he'll be resilient and bounce back and know what he has to do to not have that happen at the next one, and there's always another one in triathlon. There'll be Kitzbuhel in three weeks and I'm sure he'll be right back at it.

"Maybe the winning run could have kept going but this is sport with its ups and downs and Javier Gomez had a great race and really pushed Ali and Jonny to the limit."

With the race taking place over part of the 2012 Olympic course, Jonny Brownlee's performance in winning his first major senior medal showed he is certain to be competing alongside his brother for a spot on the British team.

UK Sport and Sport England are to be merged as part of the Government's cost-cutting drive.

The two bodies distribute National Lottery money to sport – UK Sport funds elite Olympic athletes and promising sports stars while Sport England funds grassroots sports in terms of facilities and coaching but only in England rather than across the whole of the UK.

The merger is unlikely to take place before the London 2012 Olympics.