Olympic hero Jonny Brownlee has revealed how he converted his own conservatory into a heat chamber before winning gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics last summer.
Triathlete Brownlee, 31, finally captured the one medal to have eluded him when he formed part of Team GB's triumphant mixed relay team along with Jessica Learmonth, Georgia Taylor-Brown and Alex Yee. It followed his individual silver in Rio in 2016, and bronze in London 2012.
The Summer Games in Japan were drastically different to previous events, given the impact of Covid-19. Spectators were barred from attending - and athletes were forced to adhere to strict quarantine rules in a bid to stop them both contracting and spreading the virus.
However, speaking to the Mirror , Brownlee explained it was the build-up to Tokyo, as opposed to the event itself, that forced him to seriously adapt: "It was more the complexities beforehand that were strange," he explained. "Training camps were hard to organise or manage.
"I would have ideally gone somewhere hot to train beforehand, but that was too difficult [due to Covid-19 travel restraints] so decided to do that from home. I trained at Leeds Becket University heat chambers university, and also converted my conservatory into a heat chamber. It was all very difficult."
However, Brownlee did admit that whilst the Games were devoid the atmosphere, the situation did allow him to retain focus, despite the threat of a positive covid test hanging over him and other athletes: "In many ways there was less outside distraction," he added.
"After going through a home Olympic Games in London [2012] where everyone is asking you for tickets and about the course. And yes, Hyde Park, with half a million people - that made it amazing and am incredible experience.
"But for me the big thing is it felt like a run rather than an Olympic Games. You were very much there to turn up to race and it wasn’t the whole event that it normally is."
Brownlee also admitted he felt there would have always have been "something missing" if he'd been unable to call himself an Olympic champion, and said he had never allowed himself to touch brother Alastair's two gold medals [won in London and Rio] until he'd claimed his own: "It really struck home when I got back and I laid all my medals out on the carpet and I thought 'wow'. I'm unbelievably fortunate to have medals of three different colours."
Brownlee had initially planned to end his Olympic career after Tokyo, but confirmed he will now attempt to compete in Paris following his memorable display: "Going into it was definitely going to be my last Olympics and then I'd move on to different challenges," he said.
"But after my performance with the mixed relay team and seeing the results sheet afterwards, getting the fastest run, I thought I can do this again in three years time."
Brownlee also explained another secret to his success last summer was incorporating pistachios into his diet, with him and Alastair having aligned themselves with the American Pistachio Growers company.
Jonny and Alistair Brownlee were speaking as part of their work with American Pistachio Growers. Pistachios are a convenient protein snack that’s portable and doesn’t require any preparation. The Brownlee Brothers incorporate pistachios into their training diet to fuel their active lifestyles, and to help refuel and recover before and after a workout. For more information you can visit www.americanpistachios.co.uk.
