Simon Whitfield
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| Medal record | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Triathlon | |||
| Olympic Games | |||
| Gold | 2000 Sydney | Men's Competition | |
| Commonwealth Games | |||
| Gold | Manchester 2002 | Men's Competition | |
| Pan American Games | |||
| Bronze | Winnipeg 1999 | Men's Competition | |
Simon St. Quentin Whitfield (born May 16, 1975 in Kingston, Ontario) is an Olympic triathlon champion from Canada. He has dual Canadian and Australian citizenship.
As a young boy he played soccer but at age 11 began triathlon and by age 15 was pursuing it on a serious competitive basis. Whitfield’s gold medal win in the triathlon at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia is one of the most memorable performances by an individual athlete in Canadian sporting history.
Whitfield 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 resolutely cut down the field one at a time then put on a brilliant finishing kick to take the victory. His final time was 1:48:24.02, which still (as of 2006) stands 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 lives on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia.
