Over 1000 participants and 4000 spectators attended the Macmillan Brownlee Tri at Harewood House on Sunday (21st September 2014). Alistair and Jonny led rival teams in the Sprint Relay, and even younger brother Ed Brownlee had a team! Alistair completed the 750m swim one second ahead of his younger brother, (00:09:33 and 00:09:34), but Jonny’s cyclist Ross Needham opened up a gap and then runner Stewart Randall stormed home, clocking an impressive 00:24:33 for the 5.5km run to deliver victory for Team Jonny.
Speaking about the event, Alistair Brownlee said: “It was an absolutely brilliant day for all the family at a spectacular venue. Obviously Jonny and I compete alongside all the time but it’s not often we get to race Ed and our Uncles Chris and Simon! Thanks to the spectators, volunteers and Macmillan supporters for making such a special atmosphere.”
Jonny Brownlee added: “We founded the Brownlee Tri to encourage people to take up the sport we love, so I was really pleased that more 350 people completed their first triathlon today. Over 250 kids took part in British Triathlon Trust’s Duathlon too, so there’s a promising new generation of young triathletes. We’re grateful to everyone who came and we hope to see you all next year!”
Fraternal rivalry has driven Alistair and Jonny to the very heights of triathlon, and another pair of siblings impressed at Harewood.
The female event was dominated by Johanna Spannagl, 21, who completed the Sprint distance event in 01:28:50 – more than four minutes clear of second place. As Johanna was being presented with her prize, a Boardman Team carbon bike, younger brother Bernie, 18, was already out on the course.
A tight Youth & Junior Super-Sprint race saw Bernie Spannagl and Sam Wardle complete the swim and bike section neck and neck. In a move reminiscent of the Brownlees’ winning tactic, Bernie pushed hard on the run to win the race in 00:43:31, a margin of 34 seconds. A family double was complete, and the whispers began – could the Spannagl siblings be the next Brownlee brothers?
For the full list of results: http://www.brownleetri.com/north/race-details-2/race-results.html