Alistair Brownlee embarks on his first Ironman before deciding on Olympic tilt
ALISTAIR BROWNLEE embarks on his first Ironman triathlon – and his performance will influence his shot at Olympic history.
The double Olympic champion is in Kona, Hawaii, for the Ironman world triathlon championships, which starts on Saturday.
It is the ultimate test in this most unique of sport and yet Brownlee has never completed a full competitive Ironman before.
How he performs next weekend in this new environment will ultimately decide whether he will commit himself to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics after two injury-hit years.
In an exclusive chat with SunSport from the US, Brownlee said: “I don’t want to go to Tokyo for the sake of going.
“I want to go there and be competitive. Give a good account of myself.
“It would be fantastic if can do that and compete to the best of my abilities.
“It’s about being healthy, being in a good mindset, being prepared and focused to flog yourself for the next 10 months in the lead-up.
“To prepare for the heat and all the training. Being in the right place to do that.
“I haven’t decided for sure about the Olympics. The important thing, after all this training I have done, is that I am feeling fit, in really good shape and injury free.
“Once I get Kona out of the way, and see how that goes, then I will start thinking about next year.
“Perhaps even by the time I’ve crossed the line in Kona or maybe a few days after that, I will probably know what I am doing for 2020.
“Whatever happens, though, Tokyo is 100% my final Olympic triathlon…though I probably said that after Rio in 2016!”
The Ironman worlds have been running since 1979 and won five times by British women – once by Leanda Cave and four times by Chrissie Wellington.
The 31-year-old competed in the Ironman Ireland in Cork in June but it was reduced to a bike-run duathlon after the swim section was scrapped due to poor weather.
Brownlee’s uncle used to cover the 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and marathon distances and he has dreamt of this appearance since he was eight.
He has been prepping by watching YouTube videos of previous races, including those of his American idols Mark Allen and Dave Scott from the 1980s and 90s.
Given his elevated status within the sport, he accepts he will be a target for the established Ironmen and they will not take any prisoners.
Brownlee, who has been training in Arizona for three weeks, said: “It was over 20 years ago when I first heard of the Ironman triathlons in Hawaii.
“I have wanted to have a go at them and I thought this would be a good time.
“I keep being told that no-one does really well in their first attempt. It seems like a big ask. But when I get on the course, I will give it everything I have.
“One of the things which is welcome about this is being the relative underdog and not having too much expected of me going into the race. I like the fact it’s new to me.”
The most challenging aspect is managing his nutrition, ensuring he drinks enough and eats the right foods at the right times in hot and humid conditions.
He said: “The pain will be different.
“It’s not Olympic-distance racing when you are really pushing your body to the ends of its abilities in terms of what you are doing in that time. It’s a case of: ‘This is uncomfortable and I have got hours to go.’
“You do think more than once – why am I doing this?
“But I love arcing, I love being competitive and love triathlon,
“I hope to have another 5-7 years of the long-distance racing in me.
“And if I can do well in Kona, then it would rank very highly in my career. A close third after the two Olympic gold medals.”