Shut it Brownlees, Henri Schoeman beat you fair and square! The South African usurped Alistair Brownlee’s throne, with brother Jonny also failing to defend his silver from four years ago.
The duo has been in the mix for much of the race, getting out of both the swim and the cycling leg among the leaders.
In the end, Schoeman just blew everyone away with a storming run claiming his maiden Commonwealth Games title with a time of 52 minutes 31 seconds.
Commonwealth Games Champion !! Thank you everyone for supporting and cheering me 🇿🇦 A dream come true !
— Henri Schoeman (@H_Schoeman) April 5, 2018
He was followed by Australia’s Jacob Birtwhistle with Scotland’s Marc Austin bagging the bronze.
But instead of congratulating Schoeman they went on a bit of a moan about how they battled with injuries in the build-up to the Games.
They may possibly have been struggling and whatnot, but they are famous for their strong running in the swim-cycle-run event.
“I’ve probably run a handful of times in the last month or so and I knew that was going to be tough,” Alistair said. “My main priority in the last two weeks has been making sure my calf held up so I could get around OK. I knew I hadn’t run very fast for more than a minute or two at a time so when you’ve got to do it for 15 it’s not going to go very well for you.”
“About three-quarters of it went all right,” Alistair was quoted by The Guardian. “My swim went well, it was probably the only time in my career I’ve led a swim out and I was just trying to pull that gap out as much as possible.”
Henri Schoeman, left, Tayler Reid of New Zealand, center, and Matthew Hauser of Australia, right, ride their bicycles during the mens triathlon at Southport Broadwater Parklands in the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Photo: Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo
Schoeman finished third behind the Brownlees at the Rio Olympic Games. Some considered Schoeman’s performance a flash in the pan and he had to put in the extra effort to get out of the shadow the mighty Brownlees cast over the sport.
The South African added another feather to his cap and two major scalps in the form of the Brownlees when he won the ITU World Triathlon Grand Final in Cozumel, Mexico a month after the Olympic Games.
In a show of brotherly love, Alistair helped a dazed and confused Jonny over the line with Schoeman swooping past to win his first ever WTS title.
Schoeman and the older Brownlee were going toe to toe chasing down Jonny, who needed to finish the final stop on the series calendar to claim the overall title.
All it takes is a burning desire and passion to follow your dreams, courage to risk and go for it, have faith and believe in yourself to give it everything you have 🇿🇦 pic.twitter.com/oobfDqbZik
— Henri Schoeman (@H_Schoeman) April 6, 2018
He was vilified on social media for not assisting Jonny and ultimately, he was not allowed to celebrate a special victory without damnation from the supporters of the brothers.
Schoeman has proven time and time again that he is one of the world’s best triathletes. Only a month ago when he won the WTS Abu Dhabi becoming only the second male triathlete behind two-time Olympic champion Alistair.
On Thursday, Schoeman claimed an emphatic victory to announce himself as a full-blooded champion. The target is now on his back as the world’s top triathletes race towards the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games where Schoeman will once again have to overtake the shadows.