Well that’s it from me, thanks for reading. You can follow the rest of our live Olympics coverage here, and read our report from Rio right here:
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Spain’s Mario Mola, who came out of the water 12sec behind the Brownlees and couldn’t bridge across on the cycle, congratulates the brothers on an “amazing” performance and says it wasn’t his day.
Alistair Brownlee makes history as the first triathlete to retain an Olympic title. He speaks! “Every day of this year has been so hard. Every day I’ve woken up in pain. We knew that first two laps of the bike would be crucial. We said ‘Commit, commit, commit,’ and boy did we do that. And then it was just a run for it. I was pretty confident it was going to be first and second. Obviously I just had the edge on Jonny there. He’s had the edge in training to be honest. I think the only thing that is in my favour is maybe that I have a little bit more of an endurance engine. The run wasn’t a really quick run like in London, but we finished it off. I was just delighted, I got that gap after 6k, and I was thinking this is good, and I just got to the blue carpet. I had the chance to enjoy it.”
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Britain’s other entrant, Gordon Benson, crashed out during the cycle, the only negative on an otherwise perfect race for Team GB.
Beautiful moment that. Double Brownlee in Rio, Ali gold, Johnny silver. White rose of Yorkshire being brandished on the Rio beachfront
— Barney Ronay (@barneyronay) August 18, 2016
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Henri Schoeman comes through for bronze, followed closely by his fellow South African Richard Murray. Portugal’s Joao Pereira finishes fifth.
Alistair Brownlee wins men's triathlon gold!
He celebrates as he jogs in, pointing to the sky and punching the air. Just as in London he walks over the line, arms aloft, before crashing to the floor. Only this time he is followed by his younger brother Jonny, who lies down beside him. What a moment.
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The older Brownlee is timed at 25sec clear of his brother. He takes another look back and must know his job is done. His pace is still high, this is an incredible run. He grabs a Union Jack and brings it home...
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Alistair glances back and sees Jonny well clear in position for silver. What an sensational one-two this will be. Henri Schoeman is still third and hanging on to bronze.
1km to go
Alistair grits his teeth. He’s hurting as he laps another struggler, but is closing in on history and surely won’t let up now.
Jonny remains more than 30sec clear of Schoeman and the silver medal doesn’t appear to be in doubt. Has he got anything left to give? Jonny is still working hard but Alistair’s pace is astonishing – especially given the conditions.
2km to go
Alistair completes his third lap 15sec ahead of Jonny, and is one lap away from becoming the first triathlete to retain their Olympic title.
Alistair Brownlee is just phenomenal. He powers clear and the gap to Jonny just keeps growing. Where does he get the strength? Jonny’s biggest priority now is keeping Henri Schoeman at bay.
Alistair Brownlee attacks!
The older brother surges away and Jonny can’t keep in touch. The gap has quickly grown to 10, perhaps 12 metres, and with 4km to go this may be the decisive move.
The Brownlees reenter the blue transition area, running past the bikes they left behind at stage two. Two laps down, two to go. They are timed 13sec clear of Schoeman, who is a further 8sec ahead of France’s Vincent Luis.
South Africa’s Henri Schoeman remains the best of the rest and is working hard to secure the only medal not heading to Yorkshire.
The Brownlees are maintaining an even tempo as they stride along the roads of Copacabana. Alistair continues to take the nose, grabbing another bottle of water and soaking himself. They are well clear now and whatever happens from here on in, they look likely claim a historic one-two.
Alistair, 28, takes the lead with his brother, two years younger, positioned on his shoulder. What a sight this is. They have battled all their lives but these next 20 minutes or so will play a massive role in how their rivalry is remembered. Alistair has by far the superior head to head but Jonny has beaten him in sprint finishes before.
The Brownlees finish the first lap of four along the Rio coastline, pumping through the transition area around ten seconds clear of their nearest challenger, Henri Schoeman of South Africa.
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Alistair veers away and takes on water in what are brutal conditions to do a triathlon. He comes back reinvigorated and injects some pace into the front of the race. The much heavier built Vincent Luis of France struggles to stay in contact and fades into the distance leaving two out in front: Alistair and Jonny Brownlee. “Glad to be able to follow the race here as Turkish television is currently using the sport channel to show a debate in parliament! Just a point of info: Alistair Brownlee’s pb at 10k is 28:32 – which is more than a minute and a half slower than Mo’s. The fact that he can do this after the other sections of the race is still mind-boggling though!” It really is.
This is where the Brownlees will look to increase the pace and leave the rest behind. Jonny powers on and two athletes latch on to him: France’s Vincent Luis, and Alistair.
Jonny hits the dismount line first and he charges down the blue mat towards his station, closely followed by his brother Alistair. Bits and bobs in the box, and Jonny leads them out with Richard Varga, Vincent Luis and then Alistair, into the start of this 10km run.
The Brownlee brothers go to the front as they close in on the transition from cycle to run. “Lawrence, you mentioned ‘the chasing pack’ - don’t they have a peloton in triathlon? Sounds just as strategic....” I am giving an arbitrary 30-ish as the cut-off for a peloton, so pack it is.
A crash has split the chase group. Canada’s Andrew Yorke was involved but he looks OK and scampers to get back on his bike. As Matthew points out below, it is looking almost impossible for any of the chasers to catch the leaders during the run. The medals will surely come from the front pack of 10 riders (soon to be runners).
“Am I right in thinking that with the potential lead the 10 riders have going onto the run,” emails Matthew Trim, “not even Mo Farah can catch them (well ...Alistair) based on personal bests over the distance?” I believe so Matthew – Alistair’s 10k PB is within a minute of Farah’s, ridiculously.
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Richard Varga, who was the first out of the water at the end of the swim, takes a stint on the front of the lead group as they take on lap six. Their advantage to the chasing pack is 1min 18sec – Spain’s Mario Mola will have to put in a stunning run if he is to work his way back into medal contention.
As we tip over what is likely to be the halfway point of this race at 55 minutes, a reminder of the 10 athletes out in front:
The leaders
Richard Varga (Slovakia), Ben Kanute (USA), Marten Van Riel (Belgium), Alessandro Fabian (Italy), Vincent Luis (France), Alistair Brownlee (GB), Jonny Brownlee (GB), Aaron Royle (Australia), Andrea Salvisberg (Switzerland) and Henri Schoeman (South Africa).
Jonny Brownlee leads the front group through the bright blue transition area on Copacabana Beach, and on to the start of lap five of the eight cycling circuits which make up this 40km ride. Their pace has dropped off slightly, which is understandable in the conditions, but they have maintained their advantage over the chase group of more than a minute.
The leaders have managed to remain as one pack despite the high pace, all 10 staying in touch. With no one attempting to break – and the Brownlees unlikely to let them go – it seems as if this group will begin the final stage together.
Chase group is way too big to make up anytime! There are some strong cyclists in that group but just too big! #Rio2016 #triathlon
— Hunter Kemper (@hunterkemper) August 18, 2016
Copacabana is packed with fans lining the side of the road as the frontrunners continue to work at a fierce pace in the heat. The chase group is timed again, and the gap has increased slightly to 1min 13sec. The Brownlees and their fellow leaders are relentless.
The chasing pack are timed at 1min 07sec behind the leaders at the start of lap four. This could soon develop into a ten-man race. Led by Alistair Brownlee, they climb the short sharp hill again, which must feel more like a mountain each time they face it.
The ten leaders begin lap four of these eight gruelling circuits on the bike. Their names in full:
Richard Varga (Slovakia), Ben Kanute (USA), Marten Van Riel (Belgium), Alessandro Fabian (Italy), Vincent Luis (France), Alistair Brownlee (GB), Jonny Brownlee (GB), Aaron Royle (Australia), Andrea Salvisberg (Switzerland) and Henri Schoeman (South Africa).
The Brownlees’ tactic is paying dividends as Spain’s Mario Mola and the rest of the chasing group slip further and further behind. Their advantage is now more than a minute.
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This image gives an idea of just how tough the climb is. The leading pack are on their third lap of eight and the Brownlees continue to keep the pace high each time they ascend. This is a brutal strategy from the British brothers, essentially working as hard as possible to shed as many chasers as they can.
Climbing that hill! #Rio2016 #triathlon pic.twitter.com/gdE7UArnvm
— World Triathlon (@worldtriathlon) August 18, 2016
Belgium’s Marten Van Riel takes up position at the front before moving aside for Alistair Brownlee once more, who has certainly put in the biggest effort during stage two of this triathlon. This lead group of 10 riders remain around 30sec clear.
France’s Vincent Luis is another in the leading group, and he is a genuine medal threat. Luis finished second in the test event on this course last year.
Alistair takes up the front of the race as they take on the next ascent this cycle. Spain’s Mario Mola, a serious threat to the Brownlees, is on the nose of the chase group and ratcheting up the pace as he looks to close in on the leaders around 30sec clear.
Whenever I see or hear the words "Alistair Brownlee" I think "Aleister Crowley". He's a demon on land or sea, but still. @LawrenceOstlere
— Gary Naylor (@garynaylor999) August 18, 2016
Eight (!) brutal climbs of a tough ascent will be completed before the run, and the first has already strung out the race. A group of around ten riders are away at the front working incredibly hard in searing heat. It includes Australia’s Aaron Royle, Andrea Salvisberg of Switzerland, Slovakia’s Richard Varga, and the Brownlees.
Jonny Brownlee zips to the front of the leading pack and within a minute he is joined by Alistair. They targeted the cycle when the route was announced as their moment to crank up the pressure on their rivals, and will look to work together now until the run.
Varga jumps out first, with Polyanskiy and Fabian close behind. Alistair Brownlee reaches the swim-finish fourth with Jonny only a few seconds off. It’s chaotic as swimming hats and goggles are discarded and they jump on the bikes – Jonny is a little quicker in transition than his older brother and joins the first group to head out on this 8km ride around Rio.
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Slovakia’s Richard Varga continues to set the pace at the front, with Igor Polyanskiy and Italy’s Alessandro Fabian in tow. The Brownlees are tucked in behind this leading group with Jonny fourth and Alistair sixth. They have rounded the final buoy and are heading directly for their bikes...
Like a scene from 300:
The Brownlees aren’t they only brothers in the water. Russia’s Igor and Dimitriy Polyanski are both well-placed near the front of the pack, which Varga still leads. The Brownlees are both up in the top ten after 11 minutes of this 1.5km swim.
Slovakia’s Richard Varga is the man to go out strongly on the front. At the first turn the pack squeeze around the corner and a couple of swimmers have been trapped behind the huge buoy marking out the course. That’s not much fun. They have come back together however and are largely as one group at this stage with no notable breaks.
They begin with a mass dolphin dive as the athletes thrash out into the deeper water. The sea on the Copacabana is relatively calm compared to much of last week’s conditions. The pack have split into three groups at the start of this swim, though picking out exactly who is where is not the easiest task.
They're off!
Mario Mola, perhaps the Brownlees’ biggest threat, is the last to take his spot at the start. After a tense pause, finally the hooter blares and 56 runners charge into the sea like big kids playing on the beach.
Jonny shares a little joke with Alistair as they wait, though his big brother looks intensely focused. The setting really is spectacular – Hyde Park, eat your heart out.
The triathletes stride towards the starting platform on Copacabana Beach in nearly 30C heat. Here’s more from Barney Ronay in Rio:
Further to Sean’s update on the Triathlon, I can confirm from my beachside seat that it is inhumanly hot on Copacabana. Just typing these words is bringing small beads of sweat from my fingertips and thereby threatening to destroy completely my pathetically vulnerable laptop (laptop available from all Apple stores).
I just watched the Brownlees warming up, ie running into the sea and then out again. They look pretty happy, although I can also reveal this is the first time either has been in this bit of sea, having trained elsewhere for fear of infection.
Gordon Benson the other GB competitor here is also milling about the sand having a good look at the course. Up close he is, as they say, a genuine “unit”, looks fit as a butcher’s dog. Astonishingly beautiful conditions for this event. Rio really is the perfect place to run, swim and cycle about, three things the locals do all the time up and down this strip.
Heroes, each and every one of them:
The ultimate trial of guts and grit over land and sea... Yes, reporting on the Olympics can be tough. Today I'm off to watch the triathlon
— Barney Ronay (@barneyronay) August 18, 2016
Our man on the ground, Sean Ingle, has the latest from Rio:
Good morning from Copacabana, where my morning walk to work involved a 25-minute walk along the beach ... well, someone has to do it. While strolling through the sand I saw the Brownlee brothers Alistair and Jonny jogging along, looking as relaxed as anything. Their aim today is to finish 1-2 on the podium. Such an achievement would make them only the ninth pair of brothers in summer and winter Olympic Games history to finish with a gold and silver medal in the same event. And Alistair believes it is possible. “I’m feeling really good,” he says. “During the last few weeks, we’ve both put in some hard sessions, and I don’t think it could have gone an awful lot better, so we’re very happy. I will stand on that start line knowing I am not far off my very best.” The bookies have Alistair as a short-priced 8-11 favourite, which is probably about right. The big unknown is whether two lads from Yorkshire can handle the conditions, which are a lot hotter and more muggy than forecast.
Here is the a rather sullen looking Javier Gómez, the silver medallist in London, who posted this photo in July to reveal the broken elbow he sustained cycling that has put him out of the Games:
Hello world! The triathlon is one of the most physically draining events at the Games and will provide one of the most intriguing rivalries, that of Great Britain’s Brownlee brothers. Alistair is aiming to retain the crown he won in London but will have to fend off his younger brother Jonny who took bronze four years ago, as well as major medal prospects from Spain and France.
What you need to know
For those new to triathlon, it is a relatively straightforward but utterly gruelling event made up of a 1.5km swim, a 40km cycle, and finishing with a leisurely 10km run. In Rio the athletes will swim out into the Atlantic, completing one circuit of the marked course before returning to ditch the goggles for a road bike. The cycle takes in eight laps of a much tougher course than London which cuts inland from the coast and drags uphill before swinging back down to Copacabana Beach. The run is a little more forgiving: four relatively flat circuits along the coastline with legs burning to the end.
The fastest men typically take around 1hr 45min to complete the race, depending on the course and conditions; transitions between each discipline are included in the overall time. There are 56 athletes listed for a busy start which means the swimming could get pretty dicey, and penalties are commonplace. Drafting (slipstreaming) is allowed in the cycling part of the race.
Beach start swim, 8 laps up a steep hill & a swift run makes for 1 EPIC #triathlon course! https://t.co/LZWCVOhhlq pic.twitter.com/P7vOlWbWzo
— World Triathlon (@worldtriathlon) August 18, 2016
Britain’s Brownlees
Great Britian’s Alistair Brownlee begins the race as the favourite for gold. He won the title in Rio from Spain’s Javier Gómez after his brother Jonny suffered a penalty and had to settle for bronze. Gómez broke his elbow in a cycling accident last month ruling himself out of the Games. That news has strengthened the Brownlees’ hopes of a one-two finish, although don’t expect to see them holding hands as they cross the line, as Sean Ingle explains:
Ones to watch
Despite Gómez’s mishap, Alistair and Jonny have plenty of competition for the medals beyond each other. The pick of the bunch might be Spain’s Mario Mola, twice a world series silver medallist, and his compatriot Fernando Alarza could prove a useful foil in the cycle. France’s Vincent Luis won bronze in the 2015 world series and is likely to mount a serious challenge, and Richard Murray of South Africa will also be targeting a medal. There are plenty of athletes who could figure at the finish in an event which has its unpredictable elements, but winning gold will require solving a puzzle no one could in London four years ago: how to beat the Brownlees.
Scheduled start time: 11am in Rio (3pm BST)
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