FOR the first time in more than a decade, this month’s Olympic triathlon programme will take place without one of the Brownlee brothers taking to the start line. But while the absence of both Alistair and Jonny might mark the end of a chapter in British Olympic sport, the North Yorkshire siblings will still be in Paris in spirit. In 2012, Gateshead’s Kate Waugh was a 13-year-old dreaming of being a sporting great.
A keen swimmer, cyclist and runner, as well as being a talented hockey player, netballer and gymnast, she wasn’t really sure what discipline to focus on. Then, she watched the Brownlees achieve a historic gold and bronze medal double at the London Olympics, and her mind was made up. “I learned to ride a bike at a really young age, I was in a swim club from a really young age and I was also in a running club,” said Waugh, who was a pupil at Newcastle’s Royal Grammar School prior to progressing into elite sport.
“But I’ve also been really sporty, and I played a lot of netball and hockey as well. SUBSCRIBE to The Northern Echo - read the paper on our brand-new app, access premium website content, remove adverts and join our exclusive members-only rewards club “I did my first triathlon when I was eight, and it was just such a cool feeling combining all the sports together, but for a while, I found it difficult to channel what I really wanted to do. “It got to a point where I needed to make a choice, and the Brownlees were really inspiring at quite a .