Triathletes Jonny And Alistair Brownlee : How Sibling Rivalry Can Turn Your Kids Into Winners

Triathletes Jonny And Alistair Brownlee : How Sibling Rivalry Can Turn Your Kids Into Winners
Great Britain's Alistair Brownlee, middle, displays the gold medal, Spain's Javier Gomez, right, the silver medal and Great Britain's Jonathan Brownlee the bronze medal in a ceremonyduring the men's triathlon at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Great Britain's Alistair Brownlee, middle, displays the gold medal, Spain's Javier Gomez, right, the silver medal and Great Britain's Jonathan Brownlee the bronze medal in a ceremonyduring the men's triathlon at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee became the first British brothers to stand on an Olympic podium together in more than 100 years after competing against each other in the triathlon in the 2012 Olympics.

Alistair, 24, won the gold medal and Jonny, 22, the bronze. It was an astonishing family achievement in one of the most gruelling sporting tests – a 1,500m swim followed by a 43km bike ride and finished off with a 10km run.

The ferociously competitive brothers are the sons of doctors and grew up halfway between Leeds and Bradford. They were encouraged into sport by their mum, who swam, and their dad, who ran.

By the age of six, Jonny was already competing with Alistair in swimming galas, and by 10, he had followed him into the triathlon.

For this week's half term, the brothers want to use their achievements to inspire youngsters to be more sporty.

Parentdish caught up with them to chat about

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