OLYMPIC triathlon champion Alistair Brownlee and his brother Jonathan, who took bronze in the London 2012 Games, were today confirmed in the Team GB line up for this summer's Rio Olympics.

The six-strong team is completed by 22-year-old Gordon Benson, who won the inaugural 2015  European Games in Baku, 2013 women's world champion Non Stanford and fellow 2012 Olympians Vicky Holland and Helen Jenkins, who was world champion in 2008 and 2011. 

There is a strong Yorkshire presence in the team, with 28-year-old Alistair being born in Dewsbury and 26-year-old Jonny in Bramhope, while the pair both live in Leeds and are Bingley Harriers.

Benson also lives in Leeds and was born in Halifax, while 27-year-old Stanford and 30-year-old Holland also live in Leeds, which is a high performance centre for the sport.

Alistair Brownlee said: "It's an honour to be a defending champion returning to the Olympic Games. I intend to make the absolute best of the opportunity in Rio."

Mark England, Team GB’s Chef de Mission, said: “I would like to congratulate these six athletes on securing Olympic selection for Rio 2016 and welcome them all onto Team GB.

“At London 2012, we won our first medals in triathlon and since then we have gone from strength to strength as a nation.

“As Olympic medallists both Alistair and Jonny bring an incredible pedigree to the team, and Gordon’s European Games triumph in Baku last year means the men’s team is very strong.

“Non, Vicky and Helen have all tasted World Championships success and I’m sure will go into the Games in great form and full of confidence.”

Brendan Purcell, Team GB’s triathlon team leader, added: “This is a strong and very experienced team. Arguably we’re in a stronger position going into the Games than we were four years ago, but the competition is also stronger too.

“The sea swim and hilly, technical bike course in Rio suit the strengths of our athletes, so we have all the ingredients for a great Games and now it’s time to prepare to be in the best possible shape that we can be in Rio.”

Stanford said: "It's a dream to be going to the Olympics and to be part of a such a strong British team. There's some hard miles to be done in the lead up, but I'm proud to be part of Team GB and looking forward to my first Games."