Jonathan Callum Brownlee (born 30 April 1990) is an English professional duathlete and triathlete. He is a six-time World champion (once World Triathlon Series, twice World Sprint Triathlon, three-time World Triathlon Mixed Relay), and one-time Olympic champion (mixed relay) in triathlon. Brownlee was the 2012 Triathlon World Champion, and the silver medallist in 2013 and 2016. Brownlee is also a two-time World Sprint Triathlon Champion when it was held as a separate event between 2010 and 2011. He is the former Under-23 Triathlon World Champion (2010). He won the bronze medal in the individual triathlon at the

London 2012 Olympic Games The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, the silver medal in the same race at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and the gold medal in the mixed relay at the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. Brownlee also finished the 2021 Super League Triathlon Championship Series in 3rd place, behind fellow Team Relay member Alex Yee and Olympic bronze medallist, Hayden Wilde of New Zealand. He had finished on the podium in 3 of the 4 Championship Series races. In 2022 he also finished in 3rd place overall. He finished in second place at the series finale in

NEOM Neom (styled NEOM; , ) is an arcology and planned city being built by Saudi Arabia in Tabuk Province. Launched in 2017 by crown prince Mohammad bin Salman, the site is at the northern tip of the Red Sea, due east of Egypt across the Gulf of A ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

, ahead of overall Champion Hayden Wilde and behind 2nd placed Matthew Hauser. His brother, Alistair Brownlee, is also a triathlon champion, having won the gold medal at both the 2012 and 2016 Olympics. As of 2021, Jonathan was considered the most decorated triathlete in Olympic history, the only triathlete to achieve 3 Olympic medals, while his brother Alistair, with his two gold medals, is considered the most successful triathlete in Olympic history. Between them, the Brownlee brothers, along with Spanish pair Mario Mola and Javier Gomez, and latterly Frenchman Vincent Luis, were the dominant male 'Olympic' distance triathletes for most of the 2010's. In 2024, Brownlee's countryman Alex Yee surpassed these records when he won the individual race, and bronze in the team relay at the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

to give him 2 golds, a silver and a bronze in Olympic triathlon.

Early life

Brownlee was educated at Bradford Grammar School before attending the

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

, where he studied history. He swam for Aireborough Swimming club and still holds the record for the A&W boys 9/10 yrs 2 lengths backstroke, which was set in 2000. He is a member of the Bingley Harriers and is coached by Malcolm Brown and Jack Maitland at the

British Triathlon Federation The British Triathlon Federation (formerly the British Triathlon Association) is the Sports governing body, national governing body for triathlon, duathlon and associated multisport race, multisport in Great Britain. It administers triathlon in ...

's High Performance Centre, based at

Leeds Metropolitan University Leeds Beckett University (LBU), formerly known as Leeds Metropolitan University (LMU) and before that as Leeds Polytechnic, is a public university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It has campuses in the city centre and Headingley. The univer ...

's Carnegie Centre. Jonny is the joint record holder (with his brother Alistair) for most wins in the Chevin Chase with 5 wins - Jonny won the Chevin Chase in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2016. His father Keith was a runner, while his mother Cathy was a swimmer. His older brother Alistair Brownlee holds two Olympic titles in the triathlon event (2012, 2016), and is a two-time Triathlon World Champion (2009, 2011). His younger brother Edward, who was a very successful academic, is also a keen sportsman, but prefers rugby and water polo over the triathlon. Brownlee was the British youth champion in both the triathlon and duathlon in 2006 and 2007. In 2008, he won bronze medals at both the ETU European Junior Triathlon Championships and ITU World Junior Championships, and placed 17th in his ITU World Championship Series début event in

Kitzbühel Kitzbühel (, also: ; ) is a town rights, medieval town situated in the Kitzbühel Alps along the river Kitzbüheler Ache in Tyrol (state), Tyrol, Austria, about east of the state capital Innsbruck and is the administrative centre of the Kitzbüh ...

. During the 2009 season, he also won gold in the triathlon at the Australian Youth Olympic Festival and competed in two races in the 2009 ITU World Championship Series, finishing 13th in

and 27th in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. In 2010, Brownlee represented the French club ''

ECS Triathlon Espérance cycliste Sartrouville Triathlon or ECS Triathlon is a French sports club based in the suburbs of Paris, commune of Sartrouville. The club's specialization is triathlon for elite level athletes, especially Olympians. Team members have ...

'' and took part in the prestigious French Club Championship Series ''Lyonnaise des Eaux'', also called ''Grand Prix.'' In Dunkirk, at the first triathlon of this circuit, he won the gold medal in the individual ranking which helped ''EC Sartrouville'' to win the silver medal. Despite a 15-second penalty, Jonathan took the bronze medal in the Triathlon event at the

, his brother Alistair taking gold. He took gold in the mixed triathlon team relay at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, with his brother Alistair,

Vicky Holland Vicky Holland (born 12 January 1986) is a British former triathlete who was part of the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Olympic team. Holland was the 2018 World Triathlon champion, the fourth British woman to win the title. She was also t ...

and Jodie Stimpson. At the

, Brownlee took the second-leg of the inaugural triathlon mixed relay, with Jessica Learmonth, Georgia Taylor-Brown and Alex Yee, and took the gold medal in a time of 1:23:41. Brownlee also finished 3rd in the 2021 Super League Triathlon Championship Series. Brownlee was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in the

2022 New Year Honours The 2022 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

for services to triathlon.

ITU competitions

In the five years from 2006 to 2010, Jonathan Brownlee took part in 23 ITU competitions and achieved 14 top ten positions, winning five gold medals. The following list is based upon the official ITU rankings and the Athlete's Profile Page.Triathlon.org – Results Page
. Archive.triathlon.org. Retrieved 9 August 2012. Unless indicated otherwise, the following events are triathlons (Olympic Distance) and belong to the ''Elite'' category. Key: BG = British Gas (the sponsor); DNF = Did not finish; DNS = Did not start; U23 = Under 23

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brownlee, Jonathan 1990 births Living people English male triathletes British male triathletes Athletes from Yorkshire Alumni of the University of Leeds People educated at Bradford Grammar School Triathletes at the 2012 Summer Olympics Triathletes at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic triathletes for Great Britain Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain Olympic medalists in triathlon Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Triathletes at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for England Commonwealth Games silver medallists for England Commonwealth Games gold medallists in triathlon Commonwealth Games silver medallists in triathlon Triathletes at the 2018 Commonwealth Games People from Bramhope Sportspeople from the City of Leeds Triathletes at the 2020 Summer Olympics Members of the Order of the British Empire Medallists at the 2018 Commonwealth Games 21st-century English sportsmen