Jonathan Brownlee

Jonathan Brownlee is a triathlon royalty with three Olympic medals and some of the sport’s most iconic moments to his name. Jonathan grew up with his older brother Alistair and younger sibling Edward in the village of Bramhope in Leeds. He had a strong sporting influence from his father Keith, a runner and his mother, Cathy, a swimmer. Alistair led the way for the brothers being two years older than Jonathan and was already keen on swimming and running cross country from a young age.

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Jonny joined the local Aireborough Swimming Club, where his backstroke record for 9 to 10-year-old boys still stands. Both brothers attended Bradford Grammar School, where their love of triathlon developed further. Alistair won gold at the European Junior Championships in 2006 and decided to turn pro. Just two years later, Jonny took bronze in the same event and the World equivalent. With the brothers having attended the University of Leeds and under the coaching of the legendary Malcolm Brown, they developed rapidly into two stars of the sport.

Jonny’s debut in the WTS came in 2009. It took almost no time for him to establish himself as a major player. Indeed, he set an unbelievable record of finishing on the podium in every race he competed in from July 2010 to May 2104 – a remarkable 42 events. That memorably included a home Olympics in London in 2012, where he and Alistair shone in Hyde Park with the older brother taking gold. Jonny had to endure a 15-second penalty after an error heading into transition but fought back to pick up a bronze medal.

The brothers joined forces to secure gold at the 2014 Commonwealth Games before another incredible Olympic day in Rio in 2016. Alistair topped the podium again, pulling away in the run in the final stages ahead of Jonny, who this time collected a silver. As if their legacy needed enshrining still further, they dominated headlines across the entire world in September 2016 when Jonathan, in hot pursuit of a WTS crown, collapsed in the heat of Cozumel. Alistair gave up the chance to win the race to scoop up his brother and help him over the finish line.

Jonathan has also collected a whole list of race wins and titles during his illustrious career and has been a regular on the Super League Triathlon scene. He finished third overall in the 2018 Championship Series, which included taking a memorable victory in the final in Singapore. He has also competed at multiple Arena Games events.

Jonny competed at what he then described as his last Olympics in Tokyo. He came fifth in the individual event and completed the entire haul of medals with a gold as part of Great Britain’s Mixed Relay team alongside Georgia Taylor-Brown, Jess Learmonth and Alex Yee.

He secured another third place Super League Triathlon Championship Series finish in 2021 thanks to finishing third in London, second in Munich and Jersey and seventh in Malibu.

He had an unfortunate start to 2022 as he was involved in a bike crash at WTCS Leeds that left him with a fractured scaphoid in his wrist with his big comeback planned for the Super League Triathlon Championship Series and the option of a fourth Olympic Games in Paris in 2024 still on the table. Another consistent SLT Championship season, including a second place finish at the series Grand Finale in NEOM, saw Brownlee finish in 3rd place in the series for the 2nd year in a row, with Team Cheetahs also finishing the year in 2rd position.

He still lives in Bramhope with his fiancee Fiona, a physio, and enjoys a very normal life despite his fame and success and is also a big supporter of Leeds United. He and Alistair have set up a charity, the Brownlee Foundation, to inspire children from all backgrounds to enjoy sport and encourage them to lead active lifestyles.