Brownlee in the running for historic Brit medal

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Allen, who competed in Sydney eight years ago when the sport made its Games debut, believes Alistair Brownlee could finish in the top three because he has nothing to lose.

Spain's Javier Gomez Noya is the world champion and hot favourite to claim gold on 18 August.

But Brownlee, 20, won the Under-23 version this year and he leads a British team of three men and two women aiming to swim 1500m, cycle 40km and run 10km to seal their place in history.

Allen said: "This year we have got the best chance we have ever had of winning a medal, particularly in the men's event.

"Alistair is young and has nothing to lose - he has got no pressure and is really targeting the 2012 Olympics. When people race like that they don't have pressure and you can win and do well. He is a very talented guy and my dark horse for a medal."

Eight years ago, Britain's Simon Lessing was the world record holder and five-time world champion but could only finish ninth and Allen, also competed at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, believes this is down to the event's unpredictability.

He said: "If you're favourite at the Olympics, the pressure really gets to you and that's when problems arise. So much can go wrong and quite often does. You can have a bad swim, get your tactics wrong, lose some gear, anything. Races like the Olympics are very tactical and very aggressive.

"You'll see 40 or 50 guys going round the turn in the swim where there is a metre's space. You get pulled, ducked under - its not a lot of fun, that part of the race."