A Triathlete Seeks to Retain His Crown
Will two-time gold-medalist Alistair Brownlee swim, bike & run to a third victory?
Can lightning strike three times? Olympic triathlete Alistair Brownlee won gold medals at London 2012 and Rio 2016. For this summer’s Tokyo Games, he hasn’t yet been confirmed for Team GB. Like all great competitors, he’s striving and training for one victory at a time.
Alistair’s brother, Jonny Brownlee, shared the podium with him at both of the last Olympic events; he won the bronze and the silver, respectively. Jonny is confirmed to represent Great Britain in Tokyo. His and Alistair’s training regimens include swimming in their Endless Pools® Elite model.
In addition to training in the open water, Alistair Brownlee refines his stroke and builds endurance with the Endless Pools swim current. His Elite pool – first setup in a cricket club in 2014 – is now housed in his garage in Leeds.
Photo: Bruce Rollinson/The Yorkshire Post
A History of Aquatic Training & Rehab
Alistair set up his first Endless Pools model before the London Olympics. He’d injured his Achilles tendon just six months before the race! Still, he continued to run on the Endless Pools Underwater Treadmill. At the time, he said that it provided “a massive, massive benefit” in allowing him to get in the necessary miles while he continued to heal.
Four years later, before Rio, it was Jonny who used the Endless Pools environment for swimming training and aquatic rehabilitation. He suffered a stress fracture in his left leg. Again, water’s natural buoyancy relieved the weight and the impact of running. He recovered and stayed in competitive shape to join Alistair on the podium.
Now, in advance of the Tokyo games, Alistair has an injured ankle, according to the latest update from The Yorkshire Post. Again, he’s using aquatic rehab and water running to stay active and encourage healing.
Alistair Brownlee’s first Endless Pools model, a Performance pool, was installed in the brothers’ garden. He used it to train and recover prior to the London Olympics. He’d go on to take his first of two consecutive gold medals in Triathlon. He’s now training in his newer Elite pool to qualify for Tokyo 2021.
Training with the Best
The Elite pool features the most challenging swim current in the Endless Pools Original Series. Designed for world-class swimmers, the Elite is used regularly by collegiate swim teams, including the Arkansas Razorbacks, Louisville Cardinals, and Penn State Nittany Lions.
The adjustable Elite current offers dozens of speeds. It tops off at a pace equivalent to 0:51 seconds per 100 yards! (Our most versatile swim current, the Elite has a lower end that’s slow enough for beginners and all ages.)
Endless Pools offers a range of pool accessories that are a must for serious swimmers. Swimmers praise our underwater mirrors for allowing them to observe and fine-tune their swim technique in real time. As they tell us, it’s the best way to connect what they’re feeling in the water with what they’re actually doing!
The Road to Tokyo
Will the Endless Pools swimming training environment help propel Alistair Brownlee to a third consecutive Olympic gold medal? We’ll know more after his next qualifying event on June 6, when the World Triathlon Championship Series comes to Leeds. The men’s Olympic Triathlon event is scheduled for July 26, 2021.