No time for love as Brownlee brothers fulfil their real passion

Ironically, despite being rivals on the international triathlon circuit, the level of competition is actually less than it has ever been, and certainly more civil.

Any rows these days are usually sparked by Jonny's refusal to pay rent for living in Alistair's home near Leeds or else "brotherly stuff like washing-up at home," according to Jonny.

Their rivalry has turned tables to such an extent that the siblings now work tirelessly together to ensure a Brownlee victory at the events in which they are both competing, which this season have tended to land in Alistair's favour.

The first thing that strikes you about them is how slender and cherubic they look, surely incapable of completing a 1.5km swim, 40km cycle ride and 10km run in well under two hours.

But they have become the latest siblings to dominate a sport, much like the Williams sisters or the Klitschko brothers, although, in a sport like triathlon, certainly more under the radar in terms of headlines and column inches.

The Brownlees have had a penchant for one-twos this season. The first came in Madrid and was quickly followed by another at the European Championships in Pontevedra (both in June), and the pair will be hopeful of a repeat at the London Triathlon in Hyde Park on Sunday, a mirror image of the course they hope to compete on at the Olympics.

The European win also came in the unlikeliest of circumstances. Alistair lost nearly a minute-and-a-half after puncturing on the bike section but Jonny, two years his junior at 21, slowed down the main field along with his British team-mates in order to give his older brother the chance to catch up.

If this season's form is anything to go by, they could come away with Olympic gold and silver in 2012. "I don't think about the Olympics - I'm still focused on qualifying," says Alistair before admitting, "but it would be super special if we could pull it off."

In contrast, Jonny admits he regularly thinks about the Games. "I can't help it. I do think about it as it's just such a massive thing," he says.

The Games will surely come into sharper focus when they line up in Hyde Park for the latest round of the World Championship series. A year ago, they both competed in the picturesque event in the heart of London and could not have had more contrasting races.

Brownlee Sr had looked on course for second place but badly overheated and, in the home straight, his legs turned to jelly and he staggered over the line before collapsing into the arms of the officials. Hyde Park is one of the few occasions that Jonny has got the better of his brother. He believes he is capable of beating him although not yet. "The good thing is that I'm getting better but, every time I do that, so does Alistair," he adds.

The idea of beating his brother appears to be a mental block. He talks of his other sibling in slightly more reverential fashion - he is always Alistair, never Al or Ali.

Despite their shared love of triathlon and the fact the pair are both charming, they are also quite different. Alistair is clearly the less excitable to the extent he almost seems bored in interviews - well, in our interview anyway - while Jonny seems genuinely excited to talk, although nervous at the same time.

The nervousness spills out into a pronounced stutter which, while not crippling, is staccatoed enough to make you want to finish his sentences.

In competition, the similarities are greater. Both are great runners but, in fact, have few weaknesses. Jonny boasts the faster sprint finish while Alistair tends to grind down his brother towards the end of the win so he can pull away.

They train 30 to 35 hours a week, half of which is spent on the bike while seven hours are spent in the water and the remainder running. Aside from training and triathlon, there is little time for anything else.

Asked about girlfriends, Alistair confesses there is no time. He adds: "They'd have to be the most understanding girlfriends in the world."

The Brownlee brothers have been the outdoors type for as long as they can remember, as are their parents who are both doctors and fly out to watch them compete at the majority of their events. So, the idea they might be making sacrifices to get to the top of their sport is slightly beyond them.

When asked, their response is the same - "I don't see it as a sacrifice" - for it is all the brothers have ever known with the ideal triathlon training territory of the Yorkshire Dales on their doorstep. Of the Dales, Alistair says: "If it was at a greater altitude I'm not sure we'd ever leave. It's the perfect place to train even in the rain and cold."

While triathlon consumes their lives, they do have other interests Alistair earned a place at Girton College, Cambridge, to read medicine. He took up the spot after winning the World Junior Championships and lasted a term before deciding it was no longer for him.

Instead, he switched to a sports science degree in Leeds, amazingly with the approval of his medical parents. "I stuck it out for a term or else I'd never know if I'd made the right choice," he recalls. "But the triathlon was what I wanted to do. I realise it was something I could be really good at."

Jonny, meanwhile, has just completed his history studies at Leeds although he still has a 15,000-word dissertation to do for May next year. He has yet to choose the subject matter but the topic of the Tudors is the front-runner.

"It's just my favourite period," he says. "I'm not quite sure why - there's so much to read about it."

For now, the focus is solely on the here and now, and qualifying for London 2012. On the current rankings, the brothers look well on course.