Latest news with #TriathlonWorldSeries
Telegraph
27-04-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
Brownlee brothers: ‘We started training on a £50 second-hand bike'
Mention the Brownlee brothers, and the iconic scene that usually springs to mind is of Alistair helping an exhausted Jonny over the finish line of the Triathlon World Series in Mexico, 2016. Despite the drama, they still placed second and third. To date, Alistair and Jonny Brownlee have represented Team GB in the men's triathlon at three Olympic Games, twice sharing the podium and winning five medals between them. Alistair, 36, announced his retirement from the sport at the end of last year, while Jonny, 34, may yet bring home more silverware. You both grew up together, and you're very similar ages – but do you have similar attitudes to money? Alistair: Jonny's definitely thriftier than me – you've never met anyone with such long pockets and short arms. I'm the generous one in the pair. Jonny: Long pockets? That might be the nicest thing Alistair's ever said about me. I'd say we're pretty careful [with money] and thinking for the future. Our parents are both doctors and they weren't into nice cars or anything like that, they were more into planning for the future. Are you grateful for that upbringing now you're adults? J: I think so, yes. Saving is incredibly important, and that's why we're part of this campaign, the NatWest Couch to Cash: £5k Challenge. If you want to set yourself up for the future and do everything you want to do with as few restrictions as possible, saving is part of that. What I've sometimes not done very well after the big victories or events is to celebrate – I've always moved on to the next thing. Sometimes I look back on that and think maybe I should have taken that in and enjoyed those moments a bit more. But I'm still pretty pleased that we were quite careful. Have you ever splashed out to celebrate getting on the Olympic podium or another achievement? A: I told all my friends that if I won a gold medal, I think in Rio, then I was going to treat myself to an Aston Martin – and I couldn't do it. And – it's not quite true, because it didn't quite work out like this – but people like to joke that I went out for an Aston Martin and came back with a Volvo. Really, I think the treat for both of us after those big achievements has been a bit of time off and time at home, as boring as that sounds. When you do a lot of travelling and live a pretty intense existence, the most valuable thing is having a bit of time and freedom. J: It's the same for me. A dream for me is having time with friends and my wife and having the freedom to do normal stuff. I do remember, Christmas 2012 – it was a normal Christmas and I was 22 at this point – and I went to my parents' house and got some nice presents, but then went back home and ordered myself an Xbox One. I was, like, 'You know what? I can actually [afford to] do this now.' I remember being home on Boxing Day and just playing Xbox, and that's what I wanted. Having been a young kid growing up who couldn't do that, and realising now I can, that was quite a big moment for me. Triathlon isn't the cheapest sport – did you have to make any financial sacrifices early on? A: There is a lot of cash involved for equipment at times, but you can definitely do it much simpler than you think and we were very lucky doing it from a young age to have amazing parents who supported us. We started as eight-year-olds, and at that age you're not going to buy your own kit. I think my first bike was a second-hand Raleigh Flyer, it must've been about £50 or something and I've actually just got that bike back a couple of years ago, after it had been used by local kids. So, that just shows it can be done on a budget, and I think that's fantastic. Then, by the time we were 18 or 19, we were very lucky that we were starting to get some sponsorship and some companies were helping us out. J: And I pretty much got all of Alistair's kit second-hand. I remember getting bikes that he'd used and grown out of – it was always very special for me to get those bikes. You know when you're a kid, you look at a new bike and you're like 'wow'. You mentioned saving for the future – how have you been planning for retirement? A: I think financially I've always been a saver, and I've always been lucky enough to [be able to] save money over the years. I also had a pretty solid idea that I was going to retire when I did. And I worked hard at working out what I wanted to do, experiencing different things, trying to work out what I was good at and where I could add value. To an extent I'm still working it out. Have you dabbled in any investments? A: Both of us are investors across lots of different things, sort of a standard investment portfolio – a bit of property and some early-stage investments and we have different risk profiles and interests. I think investing is really important and, for both of us, it's been an important strategy to save now to have a clearer future – as you said, athletes' careers are very short aren't they? Are there any financial decisions you've made that you're particularly pleased with? J: Overall for us, just starting to save young – we were encouraged to do that. There was an option when we got that first bit of prize money to go out and spend it on expensive jeans or whatever, but we were encouraged by our manager, our family – and probably Alistair as well, for me – to start saving young. And the earlier you save, the easier it becomes. There's no one-off decision I've made that's changed my life, but it's putting money aside into different things Al's talked about. Then you look back and think 'wow', as it's increased in value quite a lot. Do you remember a point when you started putting money away? J: Our manager got us talking to a financial adviser pretty much as soon as I started racing as a senior, which is when you start winning prize money. The adviser was someone our parents had talked to before – and that's how I knew about financial advisers, but I knew nothing else. You might think you don't talk to these people until you get to 30 or 40, but he told us the way to do it – instead of letting money just build up in your bank account, he explained how you can do other stuff with it. You've got to save, and then use it.
Daily Mirror
22-04-2025
- Health
- Daily Mirror
Paramedics issue race warning as 56,000 runners set to take part in London Marathon
With marathon season underway, St John Ambulance has warned against the 'hero's finish' - which it says could lead to further injury or serious health complications With thousands heading to the start lines of the London and Manchester Marathons to complete 26.2 miles this weekend, paramedics have issued a warning to runners, urging them not to take part in a 'hero's finish'. A 'hero's finish' is what you see on television or in compilation videos of the 'greatest race finishes of all time' - the clip of Alistair Brownlee helping his brother Jonny over the line in the Triathlon World Series in Mexico back in 2016 may spring to mind. St John Ambulance describes a hero's finish as 'when someone is clearly in distress, they're clearly struggling, and then other racers are dragging them across the finish line so they get that finish'. While you may think you are helping that runner to achieve their goal of making it across the finish line, it is actually a 'really, really bad idea' the first aid charity explained. 'If someone is in that level of physical distress, that means they're already too hot, something else has gone wrong.' Paula Radcliffe's daughter runs marathon 5 years after ovarian cancer diagnosis A paramedic said that on one occasion, someone being dragged towards the end of the race by other runners was already in cardiac arrest. 'It's an incredibly bad idea if your body wants to collapse, that's your body's way of protecting you, you should let people collapse safely to the floor, get help, and then we'll bring them across the line in a safe way and give them the help they need,' they said. A spokesperson from St John Ambulance told the Mirror: 'With running and challenge event season upon us, to ensure any race remains fun and safe we want people to be aware of the dangers of the 'Hero's Finish'.' They added: 'It is very dangerous, and we advise against it. If the runner is near collapse, they are in trouble and can't continue and they run the risk of serious harm. Someone clearly unable to finish a race should stop. If near collapse, they should be helped to the floor and assistance summoned.' The London Marathon is one of the Abbott World Marathon Majors and will be held on Sunday April 27th, the same day as the Manchester Marathon. More than 56,000 runners are expected to complete the race in the capital, which would beat the current record of 55,646 finishers at the New York Marathon in November. The race, which takes runners past landmarks like Tower Bridge, the London Eye, Big Ben, and Buckingham Palace, is notoriously hard to get into and this year more than 840,000 people applied for the ballot - breaking the world record of 578,304 for the 2024 race. The Manchester Marathon will see 36,000 runners take part - and it sold out more than five months before the event.
