Alistair Brownlee: Double Olympic Gold Triathlete, ‘It's About Medals Not Money’ (Ep54)

Today, we welcome a British sporting legend. That term can get thrown around a lot, but as a multiple Olympic, World and European Champion, Alistair Brownlee is one of the greatest triathletes of all time. As you hopefully now know with this show, the sporting success is only one side of our guests. It’s what they are doing alongside their elite performance that drives our intrigue, and Alistair is far more than the sum of his medals.

The money in athletics and triathlon is nothing like the money available in other major sports, and therefore it can often be difficult to carve out a career in it, let alone look at how to invest and create value for yourself off the back of medals and titles. But Alistair took a different approach, and has been educating and investing throughout much of his professional career, heeding the advice of his coach who told him ‘if you invest this money now, that could be a year you don’t have to work when you retire’.

From giving up a medicine degree at Cambridge to commit to triathlon to winning double Olympic gold, including a famous London 2012 victory, this is an athlete who understands the true value a life in sport can bring to business. Newly retired, how does an elite performer fill the void left by regular sporting competition? In his own words, “I’ve had such an amazing career in sport and now I’m really excited about trying to be successful in another sphere”.

On today’s show we discuss:

Sport over Education?

• Do you always have to sacrifice education to pursue a career at the top end of sport?
• How did Alistair decide that he would chase the dream of becoming a professional triathlete over his medicine degree at Cambridge?
• What sacrifices do elite athletes have to make in the pursuit of success in their given sport? Do they view it as a sacrifice?
• As an athlete it is important to have things in your life that are not related to sport, and why it doesn’t mean you are not committed if you do.

Finances of Athletics

• Is there enough money in professional triathlon to make it your full time job?
• What are the financial rewards on offer for winning events and performing at the highest possible level?
• How do sponsorships work? A more niche sport makes it harder to sign big deals; how did Alistair and his brother Jonny break the mould and sign a high profile contract with BT?
• What advice was Alistair given by his coach that encouraged him to invest some of his winnings and not spend them?
• Winning Olympic gold in London thrust him into the limelight in a short space of time. What changes when you achieve this kind of success?

A life after sport:

• It’s often said that athletes die twice, the first time being when they retire. Having made the announcement at the end of last year, what is next for Alistair?
• How important is it to prepare for your life after sport while you are still competing and not waiting until you finish?
• The rise of ‘Ultra’ competitions and the attraction of finding new challenges in competition as well as business.
• “I’ve had such an amazing career in sport and now I’m really excited about trying to be successful in another sphere”

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