Alistair and Jonny Brownlee utterly dominated the Abu Dhabi International Triathlon short course last weekend, linking arms at the finish to take first and second place respectively in a time of 3:12:21.
“Jonny and I both got a good lead out of the swim and we just concentrated and stayed focused on biking as hard as we could," said Olympic gold medallist Alistair. "We managed to keep going strong on the Yas Marina Circuit, gaining a strong lead before the run leg which really helped us break away and take the lead.”
Jonny added: "I’ve done the same events for 4-5 years now and so it’s really cool to go somewhere so completely different. Where else can you ride on a F1 circuit and bike in the pits and chicanes? The Yas Marina Circuit was a highlight and, due to the smooth tarmac, allowed me to get up to 65km/h on my bike which I really enjoyed.”
Swiss athlete Ruedi Wild took bronze in the short course (1.5km swim/100km cycle/10km run), crossing the line nearly two minutes behind the Brownlees.
Germany's Svenja Bazlen won out in a hard-fought women's short course race, crossing the line in 3:34:51, just seconds ahead of Australia's Annabel Luxford. Lisa Marangon (AUS) came third, around 5mins behind Luxford.
Australia's Melissa Hauschildt successfully defended her crown in the women's long course race (3km/200km/20km), while in the men's race Tyler Butterfield (BER) raced through the pack to take his first victory in the UAE.
(Main image: Warren Little)