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Olympic gold medalist and triathlon world champion Alistair Brownlee announces his retirement

Olympic gold medalist and triathlon world champion Alistair Brownlee announces his retirement

Two-time Olympic triathlon champion Alistair Brownlee has announced his retirement.

The 36-year-old became the first triathlete to successfully defend his Olympic title when he won gold in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, four years after his triumph on home soil in London.

“It’s time to close this chapter… This marks my transition from professional triathlon, a moment I look forward to with equal amounts of fear and excitement,” Brownlee, whose first major title was winning the 2006 Junior European Duathlon, wrote on social media Media.

“Triathlon has had a profound impact on my life; I have dedicated almost half my time to becoming a professional athlete, fulfilling a childhood dream and achieving far more than I could have ever imagined.

“Why now? It feels right. I am happy and content, excited about what lies ahead. I smile because it happened instead of crying because it’s over (to paraphrase Dr. Seuss).”

Brownlee was also a two-time individual world champion in triathlon, won the European title four times and competed at elite level alongside his brother Jonny, who is two years younger.

Jonny also won medals in London and Rio and was famously helped across the finish line by his brother at the 2016 World Triathlon Series final in Mexico after nearly collapsing a few hundred meters from the finish.

Brownlee is now considering his next steps away from the sport.

“I’m looking forward to adopting a slightly slower pace of life, but not too slow,” the Yorkshireman added.

“A series of exciting events, challenges and adventures await me – things that I have always wanted to try but have not yet been able to pursue.

“For me, sport has always been a personal journey of discovery and I look forward to trying out new challenges. Feel free to make suggestions below.

“Firstly, I have to thank many wonderful people and enjoy some well-deserved relaxation.

“In the coming months, I will share more about my career and the incredible people who have been part of my journey, as well as the new and exciting challenges and projects I would like to take on.

“I am deeply grateful to each and every one of you for your contributions, no matter how small you may think.

“Your support means a lot to me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

Brownlee demonstrated his potential when he finished 12th at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 at the age of 20 and was the best triathlete in the world the following year.

He maintained his dominance for most of the next decade, but increasingly struggled with injuries and illness in the latter stages of his career and missed selection for the Tokyo Olympics.

Brownlee then focused on endurance events. His last race was last Sunday at the final of the T100 Triathlon World Championships in Dubai, where he came third.

“I was pretty confident all year that this would be my last year of racing, but I wanted to get to the end of the year and really see how I felt without making a rash decision,” he said.

“It has become more difficult for me. I can’t do nearly the training I used to be able to do. So sometimes it was difficult for me to get to the starting line because I knew that I wasn’t prepared at the level that I would like to be.

“I’ve been planning this day for a long time. I’ve always had a pathological fear of having nothing to do and the morning after my last race I didn’t want to wake up and I had nothing to do but go to the pub. That would be a catastrophe.

“So I have all sorts of things and projects that I’m really excited about, that I’m excited about and that I want to stay active and sporty.”

The brothers founded the Brownlee Foundation 10 years ago to help children get into sport, while Alistair is also a member of the International Olympic Committee’s Athletes Commission.

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