Olympics:Ireland's Gavin Noble finished in a very creditable 23rd position in the Men's Olympic Triathlon won by Britain's Alistair Brownlee in London this afternoon.
The 31-year-old from Enniskillen but based in Limerick had a number of injury concerns going into the event but he belied those with a superb effort. He commandeered a high profile in the first two disciplines, the swim and the cycle – he lead the field at one point during the latter – before fading a little in the run.
Brownlee, 24, became the 19th British gold medallist of the London Olympics, matching the gold tally won by the team at the Beijing Games four years ago. His younger brother Jonathan completed another piece of Olympic history when he finished third.
The Brownlees were split at the finish by former world champion Javier Gomez, of Spain. Jonathan was hampered by a 15-second penalty for getting on to his bike too early in the transition zone between the 1500m swim and the 43km cycle section.
Alistair had built up a comfortable lead in the second half of the run course around the Serpentine, and was able to walk across the finishing line with a Union Flag draped over his shoulders, looking fraternally over his shoulder for his brother. Noble finished three minutes and 22 seconds behind the winner.