ALISTAIR AND Jonny Brownlee have hinted they could go for a third Olympic double at Tokyo 2020.

After taking gold and bronze in London four years ago, they achieved their ultimate goal of gold and silver on the Copacabana waterfront on Thursday.

Once again it was Alistair who came out on top, becoming the first triathlete to retain an Olympic title.

He will be 32 in Tokyo and admitted he has ambitions to move up to the long-distance Ironman, but the lure of the Olympics is strong.

Alistair said: "It's too soon to think about it in lots of ways but triathlon is what I love doing. I'll be doing some form of sport.

"I do want to have a go at Ironman at some point. Whether I do it in the next four years or not, or do it and then have a crack at Tokyo, who knows, but, for me, it has always been about the Olympics.

"I remember watching my first Olympics in Atlanta when I was eight years old and then watching the triathlon debut in Sydney at 12. The Olympics is a big thing so I think it would be a struggle not to be in Tokyo."

The Bingley Harriers who grew up in Horsforth are the first brothers ever to finish one and two in an individual event at a Games for Britain and the first for any country in 56 years.

It is a remarkable story built around sibling rivalry, but also trust.

Jonny knows how much he owes his brother, the older by two years, saying: "If I didn't have Alistair around, I definitely wouldn't be here.

"I have learned how to train from him. There was a time when I was 13 or 14 where I wasn't sure if I was going to do this sport any more and Alistair made it very easy to come back to because I had a ready-made training partner.

"He'd get me out of bed in the morning and go, 'come on, let's cycle to school'. He was the guy who showed me all my run routes, he was the guy who, when coaches said 'you're doing too much training', he said, 'no I'm not'.

"It's all about trust. When you've got someone you trust, who you know has got your best interests at heart as well and you want to train together to be the best you possibly can, it's very important."

But, for all his gratitude, the 26-year-old remains desperate to get his hands on a gold medal.

He had hoped that day might be on Thursday after coming out on top in training but, when it counted, he could not match the running speed of Alistair.

The more ruthless of the pair, Alistair hinted things might be different should they both be in Tokyo, saying: "I wouldn't be too disappointed if it happened again the other way around."

That would, in many ways, be the perfect ending for both men.

Jonny said: "You've got to respect other athletes and I realise how good Alistair is. I gave everything to beat him. I've trained as hard as I possibly could. I couldn't have done anything else.

"It's a silver medal at an Olympic Games and, if I want to be beaten by any athlete out there, then it's Alistair.

"I'm 26 now and I've still hopefully got a few years in me. If I get towards the end of my career and I'm still chasing that gold medal, maybe I'll start to get a bit more jealous."