Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee will be looking for redemption when they form part of a strong English foursome in the Mixed Team Relay Triathlon event at the Commonwealth Games on Saturday, although they face a stiff competition from a strong home team in Australia.
When: Saturday 7th April, 4.01am (BST). Where: Broadwater Parklands, Gold Coast.
The Brownlees were left to rue their recent injury woes when they both produced underwhelming performances in the men's individual triathlon on Thursday, with Jonny finishing seventh and Alistair 10th. Both men have had fitness issues to contend with during the build-up to the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast as Jonny's preparations at the start of the year were hit by an injury in January, while Alistair is still recovering from a calf complaint that forced him to miss the World Triathlon Series event in Abu Dhabi in February.
It was clear that neither of the English stars were at their best on Thursday as they faded badly during the final run leg and it will be interesting to see if they have anything left in the tank on Saturday, when they bid to defend the Mixed Team Relay gold medal they - along with Jodie Stimpson and Vicky Holland - won in Glasgow in 2014.
The Brownlees will form part of a formidable English team that includes Jessica Learmonth, whose meteoric rise during the past twelve months continued with a silver medal in the women's individual event, and Holland, who came fourth on Thursday.
The teams will each compete in a mini-triathlon of a one-lap swim over 250m, a two-lap 7km bike ride and a 1.5km run at the Broadwater Parklands venue on Saturday.
The 5km run was the big issue for Alistair Brownlee in the individual event a few days ago, so the shorter distance on the run leg should play into his hands this weekend.
The Contenders
Australia appear to be the biggest threat to England's hopes of a successful title defence as they won the Mixed Team Relay at the World Championships in Hamburg last year and they can call upon a couple of rising stars of the sport. Jake Birtwhistle finished runner-up in a couple of WTS events in 2017 and he produced a quite superb run to grab silver in the men's individual event on Thursday, while his teammate Matt Hauser came in fourth.
The experienced Gillian Backhouse and Ashleigh Gentile complete a very strong team. Gentile boasts the benefit of home experience as she grew up on the Gold Coast and came fifth in the individual race on Thursday, while it is worth noting that she is the only woman to have beaten the otherwise dominant Flora Duffy in the last 18 months.
South Africa took silver at the Commonwealth Games in 2014 and they have a couple of members of that team present this weekend, with Gillian Sanders and Henri Schoeman - the men's gold medal winner on Thursday - lining up alongside the impressive Richard Murray and Simone Ackerman.
Andrew Hewitt and Ryan Sissons return for a New Zealand team that came in fifth in 2014, while Flora Duffy will be the stand-out name in the Bermudan team.
The line-up is completed by Scotland - who will be buoyed by the hugely impressive of Marc Austin after he took bronze in the men's individual competition - Canada and Wales, with Non Stanford keen to make up for lost time after missing the race in 2014 with injury.
Prediction: 1st. England. 2nd: Australia. 3rd: South Africa.
