Jonny Brownlee: Who is the talented Leeds triathlon athlete and how did he get to the Tokyo Olympics 2021?

Jonny Brownlee has won his first gold medal in the triathlon Olympic final on July 30 - making Yorkshire and the whole of Great Britain proud.

Let’s take a look at what got him here in the first place.

Early career

The 31-year-old triathlete and duathlete doesn’t just compete for triathlons but has also grown up swimming professionally at the Aireborough Swimming Club.

He was brought up in a family of athletes, with his father being a runner and his mother, a swimmer. His older brother, Alistair, holds two Olympic gold medals in the 2012 and 2016 Olympic games and has won the Triathlon World Championships twice in 2009 and 2011.He also has a younger brother, Edward, who is also an eager sportsman, though he is more into rugby and water pollo than the triathlon.

Making his way to the Olympics

Jonny is a member of the Bingley Harriers and coached by Malcolm Brown and Jack Maitland at the British Triathlon Federation’s High Performance Centre, based at Leeds Metropolitan University’s Carnegie Centre.

Between 2006 and 2007, he was the triathlon and duathlon British youth champion. He won bronze medals at the ETU European Junior Triathlon Championships and ITU World Junior Championships in 2008.

He won a gold medal in the triathlon event at the Australian Youth Olympic Festival in 2009 and represented the French club ECS Triathlon and took part in the French Club Championship Series Lyonnaise des Eaux, also known as the Grand Prix in 2010.

This isn’t Jonny’s first Olympic triumph as at the London 2012 Olympic Games, he took the bronze medal in the triathlon event, whilst his brother took the gold.

At the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Jonny won gold in the mixed triathlon team relay.