Triathlon at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Men's

The men's triathlon was one of the triathlon events at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom.[1] It took place on 7 August 2012, featuring 55 men from 32 countries.[1][2] It was the fourth appearance of an Olympic men's triathlon event since the first at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.[3] The race was around Hyde Park, a 1.42 km2 park in central London.[1] The race was held over the "international distance" (also called "Olympic distance") and consisted of 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) swimming, 42.959 kilometres (26.693 mi) road cycling, and 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) road running.[4]

Men's triathlon
at the Games of the XXX Olympiad
Alistair Brownlee, gold medallist at the Our Greatest Team Parade on 10 September 2012
VenueHyde Park
54.8 km (34.1 mi)
Date7 August 2012 (2012-08-07)
Competitors55 from 32 nations
Winning time1:46:25
Medalists
Alistair Brownlee  Great Britain
Javier Gómez  Spain
Jonathan Brownlee  Great Britain
Triathlon at the
2012 Summer Olympics
Events
menwomen

A sub-twenty degree celsius Serpentine River met the athletes in the swimming discipline.[5] A group of six finished the 1,500 metres (1,600 yd) swim leg in a lead group.[6] Great Britain's Jonathan Brownlee was given a 15-second penalty for an illegal transition between the swimming and cycling disciplines.[7] A large lead group was together at the end of the cycling leg but Jonny Brownlee's brother Alistair Brownlee (Great Britain) broke away on the run to win the gold medal with Spain's Javier Gómez in second and Jonathan Brownlee in third.[7] Alistair Brownlee earned Great Britain's nineteenth gold medal at the 2012 Games.[7]

Almost immediately after the race, bronze-medallist Jonathan Brownlee collapsed due to heat stroke; it was confirmed he would suffer no permanent damage.[5]

Qualification
Main article: Triathlon at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Qualification

Qualification for the race was restricted to three athletes per National Olympic Committee (NOC), an organisation representing a country at the Olympics, until eight NOCs had three qualified athletes. Once eight NOCs had qualified three athletes; a NOC was limited to two entries. A NOC with an athlete who won one of the five continental championships (Africa, Asia, Pan America, Europe and Oceania) were given one place in the event. Additionally, three places were available for the NOC of the medallists at the International Triathlon Union (ITU) World Qualification Event. Another 38 places were available to the NOCs with the highest ranked athletes on the ITU Olympic Qualification List on 31 May 2012. If an athlete had already qualified through another method the NOC did not receive another quota with it instead going to the next NOC on the ITU Olympic Qualification List. Five more entries into the event were given to one NOC per continental region. This was based on the ITU Olympic Qualification List with the highest ranked athlete from a non-qualified NOC in their continental region qualifying a place for their NOC in the event. One was given to the Great Britain NOC as the hosts but as they had already gained a place, the host place was given to the highest eligible athlete on the ITU Olympic Qualification List's NOC. The final two places for the event was given to two NOCs chosen by the Tripartite Commission.[8]

For all qualification places the qualified NOC had the right to select any athlete who, by 31 May 2012, were in the top 140 of the ITU Olympic Qualification List, in the top 140 of the 2012 ITU World Triathlon Series or in the top 140 of the ITU Points List.[8]

Preview

Alistair Brownlee and Jonathan Brownlee were considered strong favourites before the race.[9][10] The 2000 men's Olympic triathlon champion, Canadian Simon Whitfield, said that, "If you run this Olympic race ten times, one of the Brownlee brothers will win nine out of ten times. But they won’t win it that 10th time, and you try to be that person to be there to capitalise on it that 10th time.”[9] Among other contenders were Javier Gómez of Spain, who was the ITU Triathlon World Champion in both the 2008 World Championships and the 2010 World Championships; New Zealander Bevan Docherty; Whitfield of Canada and the 2008 Olympic champion Jan Frodeno from Germany.[9][10]

Course
Hyde Park

The event was contested in Hyde Park in Central London, a park opened in 1637.[1][11] The 1.5-kilometre (0.93 mi) swim started on the north side of The Serpentine and the course was one lap.[4] One of the female competitors, Laura Bennett, said that the swim was the hardest part of the course after competing in the London leg of the 2011 ITU World Championship Series on the Olympic course: “The swim was the most difficult, it was hard to get away from everyone.”[4] After the swim there was then a 200 metres (220 yd) transition zone in front of the main grandstand.[4] The competitors then started a 43-kilometre (27 mi) bike leg consisting of seven 6.137-kilometre (3.813 mi) laps.[4] The cyclists first rode down Serpentine Road towards West Carriage Drive before changing direction and cycling to Hyde Park Corner. The course then quickly turned left towards Hyde Park to go past Buckingham Palace on Constitution Hill.[4] Once passing Buckingham Palace, the cyclist turned and went back towards Hyde Park and eventually crossing through the transition area before starting the next lap.[4] The final discipline was the run. It was four-laps of a 2.5-kilometre (1.6 mi) loop around The Serpentine on flat ground.[4]

The course was designed to be as spectator-friendly as possible. The athletes passed through the main grandstand area 12 times. The men's triathlon was one of the few events with free viewing points.[4]

Race
Javier Gómez, one of the pre-race favourites and eventual silver-medallist

The race started at 11:30 a.m. on 7 August 2012.[12] Richard Varga led early in the swim and held the lead to come out of the water first.[6] His swim leg split time was 16 minutes and 56 seconds, four seconds faster than Javier Gómez and those two; along with both of the Brownlees, Ivan Vasiliev and Alessandro Fabian; formed a lead group of six that had an 11 second gap over the rest of the field.[6] At the transition between the running and cycling legs, Jonathan Brownlee was given a 15 second penalty for riding his bike before the transition zone.[12] On the ride the race reformed with a 22-man strong group together for the majority of the discipline.[12] Alistair Brownlee started to run away from the rest of the field at the start of the running leg with only his brother and Gómez attempting to follow him.[12] Jonathan Brownlee was dropped from the group at approximately halfway through the run and then Alistair Brownlee dropped Gómez with 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) to go.[12] Alistair Brownlee would go on to win the race in a time of one hour, 46 minutes and 25 seconds, beating Gómez by 11 seconds.[13] Despite having to serve his time penalty at the end of the second-last running lap,[12] Jonathan Brownlee held on to the bronze medal position, 20 seconds behind Gómez and 18 seconds in front of fourth-placed David Hauss of France.[13]

Bronze-medallist Jonathan Brownlee collapsed almost immediately after crossing the finish line.[5] Paramedics gave him treatment and diagnosed heat stroke. He was taken to the medical tent where it was determined he would suffer no long-lasting effects.[5]

Alistair Brownlee criticised the penalty that he thought cost his brother the silver medal: "I've never been a fan of these penalties, I think they're ruining the sport."[14] Alistair also called the rules "disgusting" and accused triathlon organisers of "ruining" the sport.[12]

Results
Jonny Brownlee finished in the bronze-medal position
The results board at the finish line
Key
  • # denotes the athlete's bib number for the event
  • Swimming denotes the time it took the athlete to complete the swimming leg
  • Cycling denotes the time it took the athlete to complete the cycling leg
  • Running denotes the time it took the athlete to complete the running leg
  • Difference denotes the time difference between the athlete and the event winner
  • * The total time includes both transitions
Rank # Triathlete Country Swimming Cycling Running Total time* Difference
30 Alistair Brownlee Great Britain 17:04 59:08 29:07 1:46:25
51 Javier Gómez Spain 17:00 59:16 29:16 1:46:36 +0:11
31 Jonathan Brownlee Great Britain 17:02 59:11 29:37 1:46:56 +0:31
4 11 David Hauss France 17:24 58:50 29:53 1:47:14 +0:49
5 14 Laurent Vidal France 17:27 58:42 30:01 1:47:21 +0:56
6 46 Jan Frodeno Germany 17:20 58:46 30:06 1:47:26 +1:01
7 25 Alexander Bryukhankov Russia 17:22 58:51 30:10 1:47:35 +1:10
8 21 Sven Riederer Switzerland 17:22 58:52 30:23 1:47:46 +1:21
9 17 João Silva Portugal 17:22 58:54 30:33 1:47:51 +1:26
10 35 Alessandro Fabian Italy 17:01 59:10 30:43 1:48:03 +1:38
11 12 Vincent Luis France 17:20 58:53 31:00 1:48:18 +1:53
12 54 Bevan Docherty New Zealand 17:26 58:51 31:12 1:48:35 +2:10
13 27 Ivan Vasiliev Russia 17:03 59:04 31:22 1:48:43 +2:18
14 43 Hunter Kemper United States 17:25 58:44 31:20 1:48:46 +2:21
15 55 Kris Gemmell New Zealand 17:26 58:48 31:31 1:48:52 +2:27
16 47 Steffen Justus Germany 18:07 59:36 30:16 1:49:12 +2:47
17 19 Richard Murray South Africa 18:11 59:38 30:25 1:49:15 +2:50
18 39 Courtney Atkinson Australia 17:26 58:48 31:58 1:49:19 +2:54
19 52 Mario Mola Spain 18:09 59:40 30:27 1:49:23 +2:58
20 38 Hirokatsu Tayama Japan 17:24 58:45 31:57 1:49:24 +2:59
21 26 Dmitry Polyanski Russia 17:14 1:00:35 30:28 1:49:24 +2:59
22 18 Richard Varga Slovakia 16:56 59:15 32:03 1:49:25 +3:00
23 7 Gavin Noble Ireland 17:24 58:50 32:26 1:49:47 +3:22
24 53 José Miguel Pérez Spain 18:07 59:40 30:57 1:49:53 +3:28
25 3 Kyle Jones Canada 18:31 59:17 31:03 1:49:58 +3:33
26 28 Simon De Cuyper Belgium 17:58 59:45 31:10 1:50:00 +3:35
27 4 Brent McMahon Canada 18:04 59:40 31:09 1:50:03 +3:38
28 50 Crisanto Grajales Mexico 18:10 59:36 31:11 1:50:08 +3:43
29 36 Davide Uccellari Italy 18:26 59:16 31:13 1:50:09 +3:44
30 44 Jan Čelůstka Czech Republic 17:25 58:49 32:54 1:50:17 +3:52
31 48 Maik Petzold Germany 17:23 58:47 33:00 1:50:23 +3:58
32 40 Brad Kahlefeldt Australia 18:06 59:40 31:29 1:50:23 +3:58
33 56 Ryan Sissons New Zealand 18:05 59:45 31:31 1:50:27 +4:02
34 6 Tyler Butterfield Bermuda 18:58 58:32 31:52 1:50:32 +4:07
35 41 Brendan Sexton Australia 18:53 58:51 31:41 1:50:36 +4:11
36 33 Reinaldo Colucci Brazil 18:56 58:47 32:07 1:50:59 +4:34
37 32 Stuart Hayes Great Britain 17:17 59:04 33:29 1:51:04 +4:39
38 49 Gonzalo Tellechea Argentina 18:59 58:48 32:11 1:51:07 +4:42
39 22 Ruedi Wild Switzerland 18:28 59:17 32:15 1:51:10 +4:45
40 20 Andreas Giglmayr Austria 18:57 58:45 32:21 1:51:14 +4:49
41 16 Bruno Pais Portugal 18:57 58:44 32:30 1:51:22 +4:57
42 23 Danylo Sapunov Ukraine 18:08 59:35 32:38 1:51:32 +5:07
43 37 Yuichi Hosoda Japan 18:06 59:37 32:43 1:51:40 +5:15
44 34 Diogo Sclebin Brazil 18:10 59:36 32:53 1:51:51 +5:26
45 45 Přemysl Švarc Czech Republic 18:08 59:37 33:13 1:52:08 +5:43
46 2 Bai Faquan China 17:55 59:46 33:26 1:52:26 +6:01
47 8 Marek Jaskółka Poland 17:58 59:45 33:45 1:52:38 +6:13
48 1 Leonardo Chacón Costa Rica 17:24 1:00:19 33:42 1:52:39 +6:14
49 9 Hervé Banti Monaco 18:55 58:51 33:44 1:52:42 +6:17
50 24 Felipe Van de Wyngard Chile 18:53 58:52 34:03 1:53:02 +6:37
51 42 Manuel Huerta United States 18:57 58:51 34:39 1:53:39 +7:14
52 10 Christopher Felgate Zimbabwe 18:09 59:36 34:51 1:53:53 +7:28
53 29 Carlos Quinchara Colombia 18:02 59:37 35:13 1:54:10 +7:45
54 15 Heo Min-Ho South Korea 18:02 59:46 35:36 1:54:30 +8:05
— 5 Simon Whitfield Canada[n 1] 17:23 Did not finish
Source: Official results[13]
Notes
  1. Whitfield crashed on the bike leg.[15]

References
  1. "Triathlon at the 2012 London Summer Games: Men's Olympic Distance". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
  2. "Elite Men Start List". International Triathlon Union. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
  3. "Triathlon Men's Olympic Distance Medalists". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
  4. Sherwood, Merryn (3 July 2012). "The London 2012 Olympic Games course preview". International Triathlon Union. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  5. Jones, David; Eccles, Louise; Hardman, Robert (7 August 2012). "Bond of brothers: How a fierce boyhood rivalry and an unbreakable friendship spurred the Brownlee boys on to Olympic glory". Daily Mail. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
  6. "Triathlon at the 2012 London Summer Games: Men's Olympic Distance 1.5 kilometres Swimming". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  7. "Olympics triathlon: Alistair Brownlee wins Britain's 19th gold". BBC News. 7 August 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
  8. "Qualification system". Triathlon. Archived from the original on 31 May 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
  9. Greene, Erin (5 August 2012). "London 2012 Olympic Games: Men's Preview". International Triathlon Union. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
  10. Baird, Courtney (31 July 2012). "2012 London Olympics Triathlon Preview: The Men". triathlete. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
  11. "Hyde Park History and Architecture". The Royal Parks. Archived from the original on 13 January 2006. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  12. Wilson, Jeremey (7 August 2012). "Alistair Brownlee wins gold for Britain in men's triathlon as brother Jonny takes bronze at London 2012 Olympic Games". The Telegraph. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  13. "London 2012 Individual Men". Olympics. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  14. Rayner, Gordon; Kirkup, James (7 August 2012). "Brothers in arms: Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee rewrite Olympic history with gold and bronze in triathalon [sic]". The Telegraph. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  15. Feschuk, Dave (7 August 2012). "London 2012: Simon Whitfield crashes out of triathlon". Toronto Star. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
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