London Olympics: Alistair Brownlee wins gold in men’s triathlon

LONDON —Britain’s Alistair Brownlee won the Olympic men’s triathlon Tuesday, carrying with ease the weight of being the favorite in the event and also running for the host country.

Brownlee, 24, crossed the finish line at Hyde Park amid scores of screaming British fans, his pace 11 seconds ahead of Spain’s Javier Gomez.

It could have been a larger distance from first to second, but Brownlee grabbed a British flag and draped it on his back down the stretch. He walked the last few steps with a huge grin and finished with a time of 1:46:25.

Brownlee’s younger brother, Jonathan, won the bronze medal with a time of 1:46:56.

Hunter Kemper of the U.S. finished 14th with a time of 1:48:46.

“The best guys won today,” said Kemper, 36. “I’m definitely more of the Diesel vs. the Formula 1 race track. Look at the guy that won. I mean, Alistair is 24 years old. It’s quick. It feels like you’re sprinting the whole 10K for 30 minutes. To me, it felt like I was plodding along because I was running so slow.”

The course was made up of a 1,500-meter swim, 43-kilometer bike ride and 10-kilometer run.

The other U.S. competitor, Manuel Huerta, was 51st out of 54 finishers, completing the course in a time of 1:53:39. He was grabbing his left side afterward and did not speak with reporters.

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