Head of Sport

Published 19th Jun 2024, 11:45 GMT

The 34-year-old Yorkshireman has graciously accepted defeat in his bid to make it to a fourth Olympics, having won a bronze and silver behind brother Alistair in the London and Rio triathlons respectively, before finally landing a gold in the mixed team relay in Tokyo three years ago.

It was in the immediate aftermath of that race that Jonny reversed his decision to retire and said he would try for Paris but he has been pipped to the final spot by Sam Dickinson, another Yorkshireman, who has followed in the Brownlee brothers’ footsteps and has now eclipsed them.

Dickinson, from York, beat the younger Brownlee in a sprint finish in Poland a few weeks ago to hammer home his stronger form going into Paris.

End of the Olympic line for Yorkshire great Jonny Brownlee (Picture: Jonathan Gawthorpe)

Dickinson’s elevation ends a golden era from the Leeds brothers, with Alistair first going to an Olympics in Beijing before becoming the first triathlete to win gold medals at successive Games in the individual events.

Jonny, who like his brother sees his Olympic story end on three Games’, wrote on Instagram: “The Tokyo mixed team relay was one of the many highlights of my career and I still believe I could have helped Team GB win another medal in Paris.

“I will be supporting the team in whatever way I can and really hope they go on to defend the title!

“I have achieved more than I could ever have imagined in my Olympic career. After 99 world triathlon starts, 52 podiums and three Olympic medals, it’s not the fairytale ending that I’d wished for, but Paris was always a bonus, and it can be the unwritten chapter of an incredible book!

York's Sam Dickinson in action during The AJ Bell 2021 World Triathlon Championship Series is heading to his first Olympics in Paris (Picture: Martin Rickett/PA Wire)

“I have a great summer to look forward to and some exciting racing ahead.”

Performance director Mike Cavendish said of the decision: “It’s one of those things where Jonny has given so much to this sport and he’s still an absolutely outstanding athlete.“Had we decided to pick Jonny, he would have still done a brilliant job. We’re just faced with having to make some really difficult decisions and we’ve got an athlete in Sam who just edged it this time.

“He (Brownlee) was disappointed. But he understands we’ve got very difficult decisions to make.”

Dickinson, who will support Alex Yee in Paris, said: “I’m over the moon, I can’t wait, just looking forward to getting involved now.”

Asked how long he had been waiting for this moment, Dickinson told The Yorkshire Post: “If you ask me it’s probably subconsciously for a very long time but if you ask my parents it’s probably when they dragged me to swimming when I was four.

“But for me, a realistic goal? Probably 10 years plus.”

Look out for a full interview with Sam Dickinson in Saturday’s Yorkshire Post.

Jonny Brownlee's Olympic career is over as fellow Yorkshireman takes last spot for Paris