Brownlee Brothers Launch 2010 BUCS Championships

Great Britain Triathletes Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee were in Sheffield today to launch the 2010 British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) Championships which will be held in the Yorkshire region from the 10 - 14 March 2010.

Alistair and Jonathan who were both born in Yorkshire and currently study at neighbouring universities in Leeds were delighted to be able to lend their support to the BUCS Championships which will see 6,000 athletes compete across 26 sports. The BUCS Championships, is supported by Yorkshire Forward, the Regional Development Agency for Yorkshire and the Humber.
"University sport has played and continues to play a massive part of mine and Jonny's sporting development, so we are pleased to be supporting the BUCS Championships" said 21 years old Alistair, the older of the two siblings.

Jonathan continued "Yorkshire is a special place for us, having been born and raised in the region and now going to university in Leeds. I am delighted to hear that the Championships are being held up here for the third consecutive year. Yorkshire has some of the best sporting facilities and outdoor space in the UK so it is an ideal place to train and compete."

The Brownlee brothers are excelling on the domestic and international triathlon scene as they aim for the 2012 London Olympics - and at the same time creating one of the most interesting sibling rivalries for years. Alistair was crowned 2009 ITU Triathlon World Championship whilst younger sibling Jonathan has swept all aside at a junior level after becoming the 2009 Australian Youth Olympics Champion and European Junior Triathlon Champion.

"We are both delighted with our recent progress as we build towards 2012. I love the fact that Jonny is progressing so well through the ranks and I can't wait to compete alongside him regularly. The sibling rivalry is healthy, we take a lot of energy from each other and are always pushing each other further" said Alistair.

Karen Rothery, Chief Executive of BUCS is delighted to have Alistair and Jonathan supporting the event.

"What two better people to have involved - Yorkshire men, both attending university in Leeds and great role models on balancing academic and sporting commitments. We are absolutely delighted they have been able to be involved in the Championships."

Bramall Lane has also been added to an already impressive list of venues and Rothery is sure that this year's event is going to be bigger and better than last year.

"Yorkshire really works for us in terms of its world-class facilities. There's a huge amount of fabulous venues here, like the EIS, Ponds Forge, Don Valley Stadium and not to mention Bramall Lane. There's also been a fantastic legacy left after the World Student Games in 1991 which has allowed fabulous high quality sport to be played."