Not since 1960 have a pair of brothers finished on the top two steps of the Olympic podium – that is until Alistair and Jonny Brownlee’s heroics.
The Italian showjumpers Raimondo and Piero D’Inzeo did it in Rome 56 years ago but the ruthless Yorkshire duo are now the first Brits to repeat the trick.
To have done it four years after they were first and third at London 2012 is impressive in and of itself – but after the struggles of the last 12 months it is even more remarkable.
This time last year younger brother Jonny had shut down his season after a fracture to his lower leg while Alistair - the defending Olympic champion from London 2012 – was still recovering from ankle surgery and struggling at the Rio Test event.
It has taken a lot of hard work to get to the point where they were both slumped on the blue carpet side by side and hand in hand celebrating their historical achievement.
“My ankle only began to be pain-free when I ran in the new year, and I had put on quite a lot of weight,” said Alistair.
“After that there was a lot of hard training, with Jonny pushing me on. Those sessions, which have been harder than races, a few times a week, absolutely killing myself.
“Going to bed not being able to sleep because my legs hurt so much. Getting up in the morning and not being able to walk because my ankles were so stiff I could hardly move. It’s been like that literally for the last six months, with a few bumps and injuries along the way.
“I got onto that blue carpet and I knew the gap was good so I wanted to enjoy it. In London I didn’t have that luxury. But this time I thought, it’s probably never going to happen again so I should enjoy it.
“I can’t remember which one of us said it on the finish line but we were just saying – we’ve done it, we’ve done it!!”
The siblings were simply too strong for their rivals and in the end Alistair, as is so often the case, just had too much on the run for his brother – sensing weakness and pouncing.
It had taken a lot of hard work to get that point - but it was their tactical acumen as much as anything else that stood out in on the hilly Copacabana course in sweltering conditions.
Alistair stopped short of calling it the perfect race – but it could not have been far off as their plan worked flawlessly.
After a strong swim left them both in the top five transitioning to the bike, the duo made their move in the first two circuits on two wheels.
With Brownlee senior barking instructions and junior taking long shifts at the front – a leading group of ten riders got clear of the rest and once they were out in front they stayed there.
The much-fancied Mario Mola was left in dust and from then the podium spots were almost already secured.
“As soon as we were halfway through and we had a good gap, I was like ‘we’re going to get two medals here’ and then it was just a run for it,” added Alistair
“The bike was where the 1-2 finish came from in the end.”
Frenchman Vincent Luis initially kicked with the brothers on the run but he faded – South Africa’s Henri Schoeman took bronze – and the one-two was guaranteed.
Alistair’s spot in the history books is now secured, no man has ever won two Triathlon Olympic titles before, with perhaps more on the cards yet.
"Triathlon is what I love," Alistair said. "I want to have a go at Ironman at some point and I will be doing some sort of sport.
“But it has always been about the Olympics for me. I remember watching it in Atlanta when I was eight and the triathlon debut at Sydney when I was 12.
"The Olympics is the big thing and I think it would be hard for me not to be in Tokyo."
In a Games that has made headlines for poor crowd attendance, this was an uplifting specatacle reminiscent of Hyde Park four years ago.
The turnout was superb along the beach and Alistair’s lead at the end was such that he could soak up the applause with a Union Jack draped over his shoulders as he took the tape.
Spare a thought though for Jonny – whose head to head record against his older brother now stands at 24 races and 17 defeats.
A silver medal is some consolation but when Alistair was asked afterwards if he thought this could happen again – his younger brother swiftly interjected with ‘I bloody hope not!’
According to both of them, Jonny has been the stronger of the two in training this year – but on the big day it wasn’t enough.
“When he pulled away a bit of me thought: Here we go again!” he confessed.
"But you have to be calm, confident and positive. I was pretty confident I was going to hold on to second and I thought maybe Alistair will tire – I was running alright.
“But he got his gap pretty quickly and then just stayed at that.”
Sportsbeat 2016