Stories from the Olympics: A healthy dose of sibling rivalry!

It was an epic moment when the Brownlee brothers met each other at the finishing line of the Triathlon. Only a special few get to win an Olympic medal and have their brother there to share it with them.

Sibling rivalry is often one of the biggest downfalls in sibling relationships. Irrespective of the age difference, in eons or null, everything from money to food to love from our parents must be shared equally. Time and time again, we are reminded that the world isn’t fair, an the harsh reality is that it starts right from home.

But what of the twins competing in the Olympics? Twins make great teams. China’s Jiang Wenwen and Jiang Tingting and Argentina’s Etel  and Sofia Sánchez are all competing in synchronized swimming, the former as part of a team and the latter as a duo. Rowers Grant and Ross James competed in the men’s eight for the United States. Both sports require impeccable timing and communication with your team mate, skills which come naturally to twins or close siblings.

However, twins also fight to be seen as individuals. Belgian brothers Jonathan and Kévin Borlée are sprinters. They are part of the men’s 4×400m relay team, but they also raced against each other in the men’s 400m, coming in fifth and sixth respectively, with only 200ths of a second between them. How must it feel to know your brother could snatch glory from your hands?

The Brownlee brothers are not twins, there are two years between them. But they live and train together. With this in mind, I wonder how they felt about competing for the same prize. There was only one gold medal to be won, and as far as I know the medals can’t be split down the middle like a KitKat.

It’s not easy for anyone to accept that their sibling might be better than them. Nevertheless, the race would have been very different if Alistair had hung back for his brother, jogging on the spot while Johnny waited out his 15 seconds in the penalty box. It was, after all, a competition. Johnny even said afterwards, “I saw the board with number 31 on it and thought my brother had got a penalty. I thought ‘What an idiot Alistair, you’ve got a penalty’. Then I looked at my arm and realised I was number 31.” The Brownlee’s may claim to be a team, but let’s not sugar coat the facts. Each brother wanted to win.

Maybe the only thing better than sharing success with a sibling, is not sharing success with a sibling. Sometimes we crave to be recognised in our own right. While we should applaud Johnny’s bronze coloured success, we shouldn’t shy away from celebrating Alistair’s golden glory. Brother or no brother, Alistair was better on the day. In sport, as is often the case in life, it’s not about fairness. It’s about whoever gets to the finishing line first.