Alistair Brownlee odds to win BBC SPOTY cut after helping brother Jonny to triathlon finish line
Alistair Brownlee sacrificed his own race in order to help his brother to the finish line
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Your support makes all the difference.Alistair Brownlee has seen the odds on him being named the BBC Sport Personality of the Year award winner cut dramatically, with figures of up to 200/1 plummeting to as low as 7/1.
The triathlon Olympic gold medallist has been widely commended for his decision to abandon his own hopes of winning the ITU World Triathlon Series finale in Cozumel, Mexico, in order to help out his brother Jonny after he started to suffer from exhaustion.
Jonny was leading the race – and on course to seal the World Triathlon Series title given his main rival Mario Mola was down in fifth – when he started to weave across the road just 700m from the finish line. Both Brownlee’s had set an extremely fast pace through both the swim and the cycle before Jonny pulled clear on the 10km run.
But with the finish line in sight, Jonny ran out of gas and began to veer across the road before coming to a halt. One of the volunteers handing out bottles of water came to his aid, before brother Alistair came around the penultimate corner and quickly grabbed him to help him finish the race.
Alistair’s helping hand was not enough for Brownlee to hold on for the victory as Olympic bronze medallist Henri Schoeman took the win, meaning Jonny missed out on taking the title as well.
That didn’t stop Alistair carrying him to the finish line and pushing Jonny forwards to ensure he finished second ahead of him, before the Rio 2016 silver medallist and bronze medallist at London 2012 collapsed to the ground.
Even though Moya won the world title, the Spanish Triathlon Federation appealed to try and have Jonny disqualified from the overall result, but their case was thrown out immediately as “athletes can receive help from another athlete”.
Yet the real winner of the race could prove to be Brownlee after bookmakers’ slashed odds on him winning the Sport Personality of the Year award. Having already won Olympic gold this year, the incredibly thoughtful gesture could see a wave of support come in for Alistair in the December vote.
Andy Murray remains the favourite to win the award for the second time, with odds as short as 7/4 offered for the Olympic gold medallist and reigning Wimbledon champion. Mo Farah and Laura Trott are also in the running along with fellow Olympian Nick Skelton, who won gold in the equestrian at the age of 58.
The first non-Olympian in the running is Wales and Real Madrid footballer Gareth Bale, though his odds of 20/1 suggest that he remains an outside bet despite winning the Champions League for a second time as well as leading Wales to the Euro 2016 semi-finals.
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