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 May 16, 1975) is a famous Canadian athlete. He was an Olympic triathlon champion. Simon won ten Canadian Triathlon Championships in a row! He also had the special job of carrying Canada's flag at two Olympic Games. He carried it at the closing ceremony in Sydney in 2000 and at the opening ceremony in London in 2012. This made him one of the few Canadian athletes to be a flag bearer twice.
Contents
Simon's Early Life and Triathlon Journey
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 very serious about competing in triathlons.
Olympic and Commonwealth Games Success
Gold Medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics
Simon won a gold medal in triathlon at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. During the bike part of the race, Simon and 14 other riders fell. He quickly got back up and worked hard to catch up 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 Olympic Appearances
In 2002, Simon won another gold medal at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England. He competed again at the 2004 Summer Olympics, finishing in 11th place.
Simon was chosen for the 2008 Summer Olympics team. He won a silver medal at these Games, which was his third time competing in the Olympics. He finished just 5 seconds behind the German gold medalist. Simon's race was very exciting. He was in fourth place with only one kilometer left to run. Then, he suddenly sped up and took the lead with 200 meters to go! However, he was very tired from his effort. Jan Frodeno from Germany passed him right at the end to win the gold.
Simon competed in triathlon at the 2012 London Olympics. After finishing the swim, he was riding his bike out of the transition area. He went over a speed bump, lost his balance, and fell. He broke his collarbone, which 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. During the Olympics, Simon also supported his fellow Canadian triathlete, Paula Findlay, when the media was critical of her performance.
Simon Whitfield stopped competing professionally in 2013. Today, he lives in Victoria, British Columbia. He also has a second home on Salt Spring Island.
Awards and Special Recognition
In 2017, Simon Whitfield received the Order of Sport. This honor meant he was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame.
See also
In Spanish: Simon Whitfield para niños
