This summer has been one of mixed triumphs for sports fans in England and the UK. Following a typically mediocre performance by Britain's permier national football team in Ukraine, Bradley Wiggins went on to become the first Briton to win the Tour de France before taking Olympic gold in the men's individual time trial. At this point, on the eve of the Men's Triathlon, it seems an appropriate time to comment on the status of Britain's sporting emphases.
In many ways brothers Alistair (24) and Jonathan Brownlee (22) represent a new generation of professional sport in which Twitter and Facebook have released the burden of constant media contact. Through lowering media contact, the Brownlees have been able to streamline their training and race preparation regime right up to the day of competition, manifested in their decision to avoid the Olympic village before the race.
Their story and remarkable ascendancy is well known in the sport. Based in Yorkshire, the siblings have been at the forefront of the professional triathlon scene since the last Olympics, winning nine of the last ten ITU races between them. Alistair dropped out of a degree in Medicine at Cambridge to pursue that record, followed by Jonathan with mesmerising synchronicity, both in his enrolment at the University of Leeds, and in his equitable race success. The brothers enter the race as outstanding favourites, setting the stage for a fraternal rivalry in London's Hyde Park.
But in a sport where training and race preparation represent two key pillars of success, it's no surprise that the Brownlee brothers enter as favourites on their home turf.
When your brother is the most formidable competitor in your sport, it serves as a huge benefit to live and train with him. Alistair and Jonathan do ninety per cent of their training together, providing each athlete with their most effective motivators whilst other competitors slog-out in solitude, or with athletes that won't ever compete with them on race day.
Further, in a race where drafting on the bike is sanctioned, knowing that you are going to race as a team with your training partner serves as a major advantage. Though the brothers can't place equally in the event, they'll do their best to ensure that at least one Briton gets gold, and that the other Yorshireman medals.
With such credible race success, the Brownlees have made sure to make the most their home advantage by staying north for as long as possible, commuting down to London just two days before the event to a hotel just off Hyde Park.
They'll be in town to race, Alistair in his second Olympics, and Jonny in his first. If their method is any indicator, it's clear that the Brownlee's will be racing as they always do - as the most dominant a cohesive duo in the field.