Simon Whitfield

Last updated

Simon Whitfield
Simon-whitfield-triathlete.jpg
Personal information
Full nameSimon St. Quentin Whitfield
Born (1975-05-16) 16 May 1975 (age 48)
Kingston, Ontario, Canada
Height1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) [1]
Weight70 kg (154 lb) [1]
Sport
CountryCanada
Medal record
Triathlon
Representing Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
Olympic Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2000 Sydney Men's competition
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2008 Beijing Men's competition
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2002 Manchester Men's competition
Pan American Games
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1999 Winnipeg Men's competition

Simon St. Quentin Whitfield (born May 16, 1975) is a Canadian retired Olympic triathlon champion. Whitfield won ten consecutive Canadian Triathlon Championships titles and carried the Canadian national flag during the 2000 Summer Olympics closing ceremony in Sydney, where he had won his gold medal, and the opening ceremony at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, making him one of few Canadian athletes to be honoured twice as Olympic flag bearer.

Contents

Biography

Whitfield was born in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. As a young boy, Whitfield played soccer, until he began with triathlon at age 11, honing his early competitive skills in the Canadian Kids of Steel program. By age 15, he was pursuing triathlon on a serious competitive basis.

Whitfield won a gold medal in the triathlon at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. He got up off the ground after he and 14 other riders crashed in the bike race portion of the event and worked his way back near the leaders. In the foot race, he cut down the field one at a time then put on a finishing kick to take the victory. His final time was 1:48:24.02, which until 2012 stood as the fastest Olympic triathlon.

In the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England he claimed gold again. He ended up in 11th place at the 2004 Summer Olympics with a time of 1:53:15.81.

Whitfield was named to the 2008 Summer Olympics team and won a silver medal while competing at his third consecutive games. [2] With a time of 1:48:58, he finished 5 seconds behind the German gold medalist. [3] Whitfield's accomplishment was made even more impressive considering he was a distant fourth behind the lead three runners heading into the final kilometre of the run before he burst forth into the lead with 200 metres remaining. Whitfield, exhausted by his effort to get back into the lead, was then passed by the eventual winner Jan Frodeno of Germany at the end of the race. [4]

Whitfield as flag bearer at the 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremonies Simon Whitfield with flag.jpg
Whitfield as flag bearer at the 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremonies

Whitfield competed at the 2012 London Olympics in Triathlon. After finishing 15th in the swim [5] Whitfield was riding out of transition in his aero-bars when he was caught off balance going over a speed bump, falling off of his bike and breaking his collar bone, forcing him to drop out of the race. [6] Although disappointed, Whitfield remained composed and tactful, apologizing to a fellow athlete who was involved in the crash. Throughout the Olympics Whitfield continued to defend fellow triathlete and Olympic competitor Paula Findlay from the media when she came last in the women's triathlon in the London games. [7]

Whitfield retired in 2013. [8] At present, Whitfield lives in Victoria, British Columbia and maintains his second residence at Salt Spring Island.

Awards and honours

In 2017, Whitfeld was awarded the Order of Sport, marking induction into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canada at the 2004 Summer Olympics</span> Sporting event delegation

Canada competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, from 13 to 29 August 2004. Canadian athletes have competed in every Summer Olympic Games since 1900, except the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow because of the country's support for the US-led boycott.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Triathlon at the Summer Olympics</span>

Triathlon had its Summer Olympics debut at the 2000 Games, in Sydney, when men's and women's individual events were first held, and has been contested since then. In 2021, at the delayed 2020 Summer Olympics a mixed team relay event was held for the first time. The sport, and its Olympic events, are governed by the International Triathlon Union, known since 2019 as World Triathlon.

Carol Montgomery is an Olympic athlete from Canada who competed in triathlon and athletics. She won a bronze medal at the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and a bronze and a silver at the 1995 Mar del Plata Pan American Games in the 5,000m and 10,000m respectively. She was the World Duathlon Champion in 1993. Once won, she never competed in another duathlon event. She won the gold medal in the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester and often refers to this race as the highlight of her career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canada at the Summer Olympics</span> Sporting event delegation

Canada has competed at 23 Summer Olympic Games, missing only the inaugural 1896 Summer Olympics and the boycotted 1980 Summer Olympics. The nation made its debut at the 1900 Summer Olympics. Canada competes under the IOC country code CAN.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alistair Brownlee</span> English triathlete

Alistair Edward Brownlee MBE is an English triathlete. He is the only male athlete to hold two Olympic titles in the individual triathlon event, winning gold medals in the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games. He is also a four-time World Champion in triathlon being Triathlon World Champion twice and World Team Champion twice, a four-time European Champion, and the 2014 Commonwealth champion. Brownlee is the only athlete, male or female, to have completed a grand slam of Olympic, World, continental and Commonwealth championships. Brownlee is also a one-time world champion in aquathlon. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest male Triathletes ever.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francisco Javier Gómez Noya</span> Spanish triathlete (born 1983)

Francisco Javier Gómez Noya is a Spanish triathlete. He is the winner of five ITU Triathlon World Championships, he holds three ITU Triathlon World Cup titles, and won the Silver medal for Spain at the 2012 Summer Olympics in men's triathlon. He has also won world titles for Ironman 70.3 and XTERRA Triathlon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catharine Pendrel</span> Canadian cross-country mountain biker

Catharine Pendrel is a Canadian cross-country mountain biker from Harvey Station, New Brunswick. A member of the Canadian National team since 2004, Pendrel was the world champion in cross-country mountain biking in 2011 and 2014 and the 2007 Pan American Games champion. She is also the current reigning Commonwealth Games champion when she won gold in Glasgow. Additionally, Pendrel is the 2010 World Cup Champion as well as the winner of the 2012 UCI and 2016 World Cup Series. She won a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canada at the 2012 Summer Olympics</span> Sporting event delegation

Canada, represented by the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC), competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom, from 27 July to 12 August 2012. Canadian athletes have competed in every Summer Olympic Games since 1900, except the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow because of the country's support for the United States-led boycott. Canada sent a total of 281 athletes to the Games to compete in 24 sports. With the initiation of its "Own the Podium" programme, the COC set a goal of finishing in the top 12 for total medals; but the nation came up short of this goal, finishing 13th in the medal standings. Canada matched its total medal count from Beijing 2008, finishing the event with 18 medals: two gold, six silver and 10 bronze.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paula Findlay</span> Canadian triathlete

Paula Findlay is a Canadian triathlete from Edmonton, Alberta.

The Dextro Energy Triathlon – ITU World Championship Series 2011 was a series of six World Championship Triathlon events leading to a Grand Final held in Beijing, China in September 2011. The Series was organised under the auspices of the world governing body of triathlon, the International Triathlon Union (ITU), and was sponsored by Dextro Energy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Triathlon at the 2012 Summer Olympics</span>

The triathlon events at the 2012 Summer Olympics were held in Hyde Park in London, United Kingdom, with the women's triathlon held on 4 August and the men's on 7 August. 110 triathletes from 39 countries competed with 55 men and 55 women competing. The races were held over the "international distance" and consisted of 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) swimming, 43 kilometres (27 mi) road cycling, and 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) road running.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Switzerland at the 2012 Summer Olympics</span> Sporting event delegation

Switzerland competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, from 27 July to 12 August 2012. Swiss athletes have competed at every Summer Olympic Games in the modern era, except when they boycotted the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne in protest of the Soviet invasion of Hungary. The Swiss Olympic Association sent a total of 103 athletes to the 2012 Games, 72 men and 31 women, to compete in 18 sports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flora Duffy</span> Bermudian triathlete

Dame Flora Jane Duffy is a Bermudian triathlete. She won a gold medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Bermuda's first gold medal. She also competed in the Beijing, London, and Rio de Janeiro Olympics. In 2018, she won gold in the women's triathlon at the XXI Commonwealth Games in Australia. She also won gold in the same event at the XXII Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucy Hall</span> English triathlete

Lucy Hall is an English triathlete.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Triathlon at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Men's</span>

The men's triathlon was one of the triathlon events at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom. It took place on 7 August 2012, featuring 55 men from 32 countries. It was the fourth appearance of an Olympic men's triathlon event since the first at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. The race was around Hyde Park, a 1.42 km2 park in central London. The race was held over the "international distance" and consisted of 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) swimming, 42.959 kilometres (26.693 mi) road cycling, and 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) road running.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Triathlon at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Women's</span>

The women's triathlon was one of the triathlon events at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom. It took place on 4 August 2012, featuring 55 women from 31 countries. It was the fourth appearance of an Olympic women's triathlon event since the first at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia. The race was around Hyde Park, a 1.42 km2 park in central London. The race was held over the "international distance" and consisted of 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) swimming, 43 kilometres (27 mi) road cycling, and 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) road running.

Colin Jenkins is a triathlete from Canada. He competed at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, and at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, along with his teammates Paul Tichelaar and Simon Whitfield. In his sporting career, Jenkins had won a silver medal at the 2006 ITU Pan American Cup in Brampton, Ontario, and achieved his first top eight finish at the 2007 ITU World Cup in Vancouver.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lauren Campbell</span> Canadian triathlete

Lauren Campbell is a triathlete from Canada, who won the bronze medal at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. She is currently ranked no. 48 in the world by the International Triathlon Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Yee</span> British professional triathlete (born 1998)

Alexander Amos Yee is a British professional triathlete and distance runner. He won the silver medal in the Men's Triathlon at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and the gold medal in the Triathlon Mixed Relay at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics on Saturday 31 July 2021. He is also the 2022 Commonwealth Games triathlon champion in both the men's and mixed team events. He is a double World Championship medalist over the World Triathlon Championship Series, with silver in 2022, and bronze in 2021

References

  1. 1 2 "Athlete Biography - WHITFIELD Simon". Beijing Olympics official website. Archived from the original on 26 August 2008.
  2. "Whitfield headlines trio named to triathlon team". The Sports Network. The Canadian Press. 9 June 2008. Retrieved 9 June 2008.
  3. "Whitfield Wins Silver in Triathlon, Germany Takes Gold". The Sports Network. The Canadian Press. 19 August 2008. Retrieved 19 August 2008.
  4. "Roll call: Canada's medal winners". MSN Sympatico. 23 August 2008. Retrieved 23 August 2008.[ dead link ]
  5. "Men's Triathlon". Atos Omega. Official site of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 4 January 2013. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
  6. Dave Feschuk (7 August 2012). "London 2012: Simon Whitfield crashes out of triathlon". Toronto Star. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
  7. Bruce Arthur (5 August 2012). "Canada's Paula Findlay deserves apology for struggling through Olympic triathlon". National Post. Archived from the original on 7 August 2012. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
  8. "Olympic gold medallist Simon Whitfield retires; won at Sydney Games | CTV News". Ctvnews.ca. 23 October 2013. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  9. "Simon Whitfield". Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 12 March 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
Olympic Games
Preceded by
initial event
Olympic Gold medal icon.svg Gold
Men's Triathlon

2000
Succeeded by
Preceded by Olympic Silver medal icon.svg Silver
Men's Triathlon

2008
Succeeded by
Preceded by Flagbearer for Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada at the Olympics
London 2012
Succeeded by