Simon Whitfield facts for kids
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 16 May 1975 Kingston, Ontario, Canada |
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| Residence | Victoria & Saltspring Island, British Columbia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 70 kg (154 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Country | Canada | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Simon St. Quentin Whitfield (born 16 May 1975) is a Canadian athlete. He is a retired triathlon champion. Simon won a gold medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. He also won ten Canadian Triathlon Championships in a row. Simon was chosen to carry Canada's flag at two Olympic ceremonies. He carried it at the closing ceremony in Sydney in 2000. He also carried it at the opening ceremony in London in 2012. This made him one of the few Canadian athletes to have this honor twice.
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Simon Whitfield's Early Life and Career
Simon Whitfield was born in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. When he was a young boy, Simon played soccer. At age 11, he started doing triathlons. He practiced his skills in a program called Kids of Steel. By the time he was 15, Simon was competing seriously.
Olympic Gold in Sydney (2000)
Simon won a gold medal in triathlon at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. During the bike part of the race, he and 14 other riders crashed. Simon got back up and worked his way closer to the leaders. In the running part, he passed other athletes one by one. He then made a strong final sprint to win the race. His winning time was 1 hour, 48 minutes, and 24.02 seconds. This was the fastest Olympic triathlon time until 2012.
More Medals and Challenges
In 2002, Simon won another gold medal. This was at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England. At the 2004 Summer Olympics, he finished in 11th place.
Simon competed in his third Olympics at the 2008 Summer Olympics. He won a silver medal there. His time was 1 hour, 48 minutes, and 58 seconds. He finished just 5 seconds behind the German gold medalist. Simon was in fourth place with only one kilometer left to run. He then pushed hard and took the lead with 200 meters to go. He was very tired from his effort. The eventual winner, Jan Frodeno from Germany, passed him right at the end.
London Olympics and Retirement
Simon Whitfield also competed at the 2012 London Olympics. During the bike race, he hit a speed bump. He fell off his bike and broke his collarbone. This meant he had to stop racing. Even though he was disappointed, Simon stayed calm. He even apologized to another athlete who was involved in the crash. Throughout the Olympics, Simon also supported his fellow triathlete, Paula Findlay. She finished last in the women's triathlon. Simon defended her from the media.
Simon Whitfield retired from triathlon in 2013. Today, he lives in Victoria, British Columbia. He also has a second home on Salt Spring Island.
Awards and Special Honors
In 2017, Simon Whitfield received the Order of Sport. This honor means he was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame.
See also
In Spanish: Simon Whitfield para niños
