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Alistair Brownlee crosses the line first in the Olympic triathlon - Source: Reuters
Britain's Alistair Brownlee has fulfilled his status as pre-race
favourite by delivering victory for the host nation in the Olympic
men's triathlon.
The best of the New Zealanders was Bevan Docherty, who finished
12th, 2min 10sec behind Brownlee's time of 1hr 46min 25sec.
Kris Gemmell was 15th, while Ryan Sissons was 33rd.
Docherty, seeking his third Olympic medal after silver behind
compatriot Hamish Carter in 2004 and bronze four years ago, and
Gemmell were among the front group as they came off their bikes to
begin the final leg.
But they couldn't keep up with the pace set on the run, when
Brownlee made his move, pulling away from Spain's Javier Gomez, who
took silver.
Third was Brownlee's younger brother, Jonathan, who held off the
challengers behind him despite having to take a 15sec penalty for
getting on his bike too early at the first transition.
During the swim leg in The Serpentine in Hyde Park, Slovakia's
Richard Varga forced the pace and was the first of the 55-strong
field out of the water.
He was joined by the two Brownlees and Gomez among a front group of
five, who worked together on the bike leg but couldn't shake off a
17-strong chasing pack that included Docherty and Gemmell.
By lap three of seven on a 43km cycle course that took in tourist
landmarks such as Buckingham Palace, the bunch had made contact
with the leaders.
That allowed the third British competitor, Stuart Hayes, to link up
with the Brownlees and perform his job as "domestique" or helper
for the pair.
Russian Ivan Vasiliev and Gemmell, and later Alistair Brownlee on
his own, made mini-breaks that were quickly cancelled out by the
pack.
Coming off the bike, Gemmell and Docherty, were among the
frontrunners, but were left behind by a spurt by the Brownlees and
Gomez early on the run.