Olympics 2012 Betting: Alistair Brownlee Hot Favourite For Gold In Mens Triathlon

Team Great Britain have a hot favourite in the form of Alistair Brownlee in the Triathlon event, which will be competed at Hyde Park in London on Tuesday 7th August.

The 24 year old from Bradford has dominated the event since his 12th place finish in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, and is now considered one of Great Britain’s biggest chances of securing a gold medal.

His biggest rival, strangely, will be his younger  brother Jonathan Brownlee, who finished 2nd behind Alistair in the 2011 world championships.

The brothers are no strangers to Hyde Park, with Alistair winning the London triathlon on no less than 3 occasions, to add to the 2 world championships he has already claimed.

The triathlon is one of the fastest growing sports in the world, and with fans expected in their droves to congregate for the event at Hyde Park, the Brownlee brothers will certainly be well supported.

The London Olympics triathlon consists of a 1500m swim in the Serpentine lake , a 43km bike ride, and a 10km run. One of the most important things to get right in the triathlon is the transition between events, which can make or break your chances.

With a field of 55 entrants for the event, it’s going to be a tough ask for the brothers to succeed, but they’ve proved all year round that they have the ability to win this event.

Alistair Brownlee suffered a stress fracture injury to the femur in 2010, an injury which caused him to be advised by specialist to retire from the sport. Such was his courage and determination, he returned just a few months later to take the Madrid triathlon, and just one month after that, claimed the European Triathlon Union Championships title.

Main rivals to the Team GB pair may be Spanish athlete Javier Gomez. Pre-race favourite for the 2008 triathlon in Beijing, Gomez suffered a stitch and managed just a disappointing 4th place.

Gomez has plenty of history with Alistair Brownlee; finishing 2nd to him in the 2010 Budapest championship event although he went on to claim the world title that year.

Bookmakers Sky Bet make Alistair Brownlee a 4/7 chance to claim the gold medal, with brother Jonathan offered at 11/4, and Spanish rival Javier Gomez is as big as 9/1. South African Richard Murray is considered the only other serious contender at 25/1.