WHEN listing potential British gold medallists at the London 2012 Olympics, triathlete Alistair Brownlee may not be everyone’s first pick – but a brief glance at the form book says otherwise.

WINNING FEELING: Alistair Brownlee wins the final World Championships Series race of the season at the Gold Coast to secure the overall title (Getty Images)

The 21-year-old has been in imperious form this season, winning all five races he has competed in, including the London leg of the World Series and the grand final in Australia to win the overall world title.

The baby-faced Brit is not one to blow his own trumpet but he has a steely determination about him that ensures he’ll be a forced to be reckoned with at London 2012.

Here he is sharing all with ‘s George Scott.

Q – You’ve a had a very busy season, what with winning races in Madrid, Kitzbuehel, London, Sydney and Washington DC – have you been putting your feet up since then or working just as hard?

A – Definitely the latter. It’s been nice to have a rest because it’s a long and hard season, especially with this new World Series because you have to travel a lot and there’s to race for.

It’s nice to relax a bit and I’ve just got back into my winter’s training as well. I’ve done a bit of training and over the next few weeks I’ll get back up to a more solid training routine.

Q – The season could not have gone any better for you. How do you follow that up next year?

A – I’m not really confident that I can do it again next year. It’s brilliant what I’ve done this year and I’m not really worried but we’ll see – I’ll just take each year as it comes and see how it goes.

London’s there on the horizon and hopefully if I take each year as it comes – although this year was a bit of a shock – and meet all my goals along the way then I’ll be in London in the right situation to race as well as I can.

Q – You got the better of 2008 champion Javier Gomez this year on a number of occasions. Are you expecting him to comeback stronger next year and do you think you’ll be a marked man?

A – I’ve said loads of times that I think he [Javier Gomez] is the best triathlete ever because he really can swim, bike and run whereas I’ve got some weaknesses and he doesn’t seem to have any.

I seem to beat him on the circumstances of the race but he’s an incredible athlete and it’ll be interesting to see how he comes back next year.

If people know you can run they’re not going to just let you cycle up the road. I’ll definitely be a marked man but I’ve been a marked man for the last few races now and it just adds another dimension to how I have to race.

Again you’ve just got to try and adapt and try to work round it.


LONDON CALLING: Alistair Brownlee claimed a commanding victory in the London leg of the Dextro Energy World Series earlier this year (onEdition)

Q – You obviously won the London leg of the World Series this summer and while it’s not the exact same course as will be used in 2012 there are a number of similarities. Does that give you confidence?

A – I feel a bit more confident about the course in London now. You have to be able to adapt and race well on any course – that’s a challenge and it’s the same for everyone.

It’s not so much about learning the course but just being there and experiencing racing at home and with the pressure is important.

It’s all the little things and come three years time they’ll hopefully be no shocks because I will have experienced most situations and I’ll be ready to race.

Q – A grueling swim, a punishing cycle and a lung-busting run is not exactly how I would like to spend my early mornings. How did you discover your talent and love for triathlon?

A – From a really young age I did a bit of swimming, a bit of running and a bit of cycling. I just put all three together because it was just something to do and something which was a bit interesting.

 I think it’s the variation and the fact that there’s a bit of everything that makes me love it.

There’s variation in the training and there’s variation in the racing. On one day you can do one thing but the next week there can be a completely different outcome in a completely different race.

That can be quite frustrating but it’s exciting as well.

SILVER & GOLD: Johnny Brownlee, pictured with girl’s silver medallist Sophie Coleman, celebrates winning triathlon gold at the Australian Olympic Youth Festival earlier this year

Q – While you’ve had fantastic success this season, there are a few other Brits having great success at all ages including your younger brother Jonny. The future is bright for Great Britain isn’t it?

A – We’re really lucky that the competition at home is so high. To be the best Brit you have to be one of the best in the world.

That’s fantastic and I train with my brother and the other guys a bit and it’s a real good feeling – we’re really lucky with the situation we’re in.

Q – Obviously London 2012 must be pretty high on your list of priorities but do you have ambitions beyond that?

A – To become Olympic champion and be world champion. I’d really like to try some longer distance triathlons in the future – a bit of ironman and see how that goes.

I heard that Lance Armstrong wants to try his hand a bit of ironman. I’d love to see how he did and I’d like to see how I’d go too. Hopefully I’ve got many more years of Olympic racing in me before I think about the longer distances.

Q – And what’s the worst thing about being a triathlete?

A – Getting a stress fracture in my foot was a really low moment – that was tough. For something who has to go running everyday and suddenly be told you have to spend eight weeks in plaster is an absolute nightmare.

Running is the thing I enjoy most but I couldn’t even cycle – all I could do was swim a little bit with my leg bagged up. I also got injured in early 2008 coming into the Olympic qualifying so that was pretty rubbish as well. 

By George Scott,

HOW does a world champion triathlete prepare for the defence of their title? Length after length in the pool? Hour after hour on the bike? Mile after mile on the road?

FAMILIAR SITE: Alistair Brownlee was a regular on top of the ITU World Championship Series podium in 2009 (Getty Images)

Not Alistair Brownlee, who will be making his debut at the European Cross-County Championships in Dublin this weekend.

Brownlee has been a revelation in one sport – triathlon – this year.  He romped to victory in all five ITU World Championship Series races in which he competed to take the overall crown.

The 21 year-old will be a very big fish in a small pond as he takes to the muddy fields of Santry Park in Sunday’s 8018m under-23 race.

Brownlee readily admits running is his favourite of the three triathlon disciplines and the Yorkshireman claimed silver at the junior English Cross-Country Championships.

The stats are impressive.  Brownlee clocked 29:04 minutes in the 10,000m running leg of the World Championship Grand Final on Australia’s Gold Coast – a time which would have earned him a seventh-place finish in the 10,000m at the 2006 Commonwealth Games.

And that’s after a 1.5km open water swim and 40km bike leg.

But the Bingley Harrier doesn’t travel to Ireland as Great Britain’s main medal hope – that pressure falls upon the shoulders of Ricky Stevenson, who finished fourth at last month’s senior trials.

Brownlee admits he is putting the prospect of adding another medal to his ever-bulging trophy cabinet to the back of his mind.

“I’m looking forward to getting out there and having a good race,” said Brownlee, who came sixth at the UK Cross Challenge trials.  

“I haven’t really set myself any targets other than I want to run better than I did at the trials – but that was the first race I’d done in a while.

“I know a few of the guys on the team because we used raced against each other for years in cross-country as juniors.

“But it’s my first international cross-country event and I’m going into the unknown. I’ll still have a competitive edge and it’ll be a nice break from winter training.  It can be pretty boring otherwise.

“I had a great run at the Grand Final in Australia and it was good to perform when it mattered but it will be impossible to compare that to the mud and hills of cross-country.

“You’ve just got to concentrate on beating the people around you.”