Brownlee Success Inspires Budding Triathletes

Triathlon England closed its final ‘Triathlon Live’ site of the year on Sunday, bringing an end to an country-wide tour, taking the sport to local communities to ‘Give it a Tri’ for themselves, as well as watching the Olympic triathlon action unfold on the Big Screens.

The live hub’s allowed fans to ‘Give it a Tri’, and experience the next best way to compete in a triathlon event during the London 2012 Olympic Games. 

Many triathlon enthusiasts and those completely new to the sport visited Hyde Park this weekend to participate and challenge themselves in a cutting edge pool and test their abilities against a simulated current, suitable to swimmers of all abilities. Next they cycled and ran on state of the art equipment to win some fantastic prizes.

Jem Lawson, Chair of Triathlon England, said: ‘We’re delighted to have brought Triathlon Live to each of these eight locations, alongside Welsh Triathlon and triathlonscotland, and the reaction and support for the athletes so far as been magnificent!’

‘Triathlon Live is a celebration of our growing sport in an iconic year, so it’s really fantastic to be able to come together with our fellow Home Nations to watch and show our support during  the men’s and woman’s Olympic Triathlon races at each location across the UK.  It’s important to us to spread the message about our great sport alongside giving people the opportunity to ‘Give it a Tri’ themselves.’

Triathlon Live was located in eight major UK cities during the triathlon events of the London 2012 Olympic Games, including Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Leeds and Manchester.

Triathlon Live is a joint initiative run by the International Triathlon Union, British Triathlon, and LOCOG. Each of the Home Nation Associations, Triathlon England, Welsh Triathlon and triathlonscotland deliver the Triathlon Live events in their local city.

Team GB had great success in the men’s triathlon at London 2012, with both Brownlee brothers on the podium. Alistair took gold, with younger brother Jonny taking the bronze after incurring a 15-second penalty for mounting his bike too early in transition. 

In the women’s triathlon race, Britain’s Helen Jenkins missed out on a medal, finishing fifth in Hyde Park in an exciting race that had to be decided with a photo finish.