Rio Olympics 2016: Alistair Brownlee reveals his injury nightmare after retaining triathlon gold
ALISTAIR BROWNLEE revealed his injury nightmare after retaining triathlon gold.
The Yorkshire iron man walked over the finishing line six seconds ahead of younger brother Jonny and the two laid on the ground in emotional scenes.
Ali, 28, admitted major ankle surgery had left him in agony every single day. He said: “I’ve had to go through hell this year to get here but I made it. I had ankle surgery at the end of August, hadn’t run until early December and wasn’t running pain free until the New Year.
“I questioned if I could still do it. I put on weight and it was a real struggle.
“But Jonny’s the least sympathetic man on earth. There have been training sessions far harder than some races.
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“I’d go to bed at night and couldn’t sleep for the pain in my legs, then wake up with my ankle too stiff to even walk.
“But our slogan has been ‘commit, commit, commit’ and we definitely committed. In London, I’d had to go right to the line, but this time there was a GB fan with a flag and a Yorkshire rose and I just grabbed them.
“We almost did the one-two in London but Jonny got bronze. We’ve never said to each other we could get gold and silver this time, but out there we just knew.”
The Brownlees become the first British siblings to come first and second in an Olympic event.
Jonny, 26, said: “I didn’t know that until now and it makes me so proud. When I saw him walking towards the line, I wondered for a moment if I could nip ahead and do him!"