Canadian Simon Whitfield started off slow but finished up with the lead not far from the finish line only to be passed by the German triathlete in the final stretch. The gold medal winner at the Sydney Games still did well taking the silver medal in the triathlon at the Beijing Olympics.PHOTO BY FRED LUM/ GLOBE AND MAILFred Lum/The Globe and Mail
In 2000, with the iconic Sydney Opera House and imposing Harbour Bridge as a backdrop and in front of a world-wide television audience and screaming fans lining the course, Simon Whitfield of Victoria made history as triathlon's first male Olympic gold medalist.
Racing in the first round of the 2010 Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series tomorrow, Whitfield, 34, returns to Australia to attempt to repeat his famous win of almost a decade ago.
A sentimental favourite, Whitfield - who claimed the silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Games - is still one of the world's best triathletes. This weekend, he hopes to use his experience, a blistering run, and a touch of emotion, to help him turn back the hands of time.
During the 1990s, as a high-school student, Whitfield attended boarding school in Sydney and was captivated by the sports-mad Aussies and their passion for swim, ride and run.
"Living in Australia and learning from the Australians is a huge part of my life," Whifield said this week. "I went to school there. I graduated from high school on the steps of the Opera House and I took the ferry to Manly Beach I don't know how many hundred times. As a 10-year-old kid, I went to the botanical gardens and vividly remember the bamboo patch and going on the little train.
"Later on, when I was competing, hundreds of times I met with [world-class triathlete]Greg Bennett and Crowie [Ironman world champion Craig Alexander] at the bottom of the Sydney Harbour Bridge at 7:30 on a Sunday morning to go riding. We would meet at the north side … and ride a bit of the Olympic course and then through Centennial Park. We certainly knew that course like the back of our hand," Whitfield said.
"For me, all those sort of factors mean that Sydney not is just another race, and it is much more than just the Olympic race or the Olympic venue."
Instead of feeling enormous pressure, Whitfield recalls the 2000 event as being very relaxed and unfolding in an almost predestined way.
"Silly little things, like when the bus arrived at the Olympic village. Everyone swarmed on and was stressed and Simon Lessing [of Britain]was wired and all the contenders were piling onto this old school bus. Stephan Vuckovic [of Germany]and I noticed a brand-new coach liner pull up behind it and we quietly walked over and got on," Whitfield said. "While everyone was crammed up against the windows, piled into the school bus to get to the ferry … Vuckovic, myself and one other person shared this huge coach. So right from the moment I got up and got on the bus to get to the course, things just went right.
"When we got down to the ferry everyone was at the end of the dock shivering and Vuckovic [who took silver in 2000]and I found this heated bus stop. Of course we did. On the ferry, we had great seats. While everyone else was uncomfortable, we just happened to get these two great seats. That was basically the flow of my day," he said. "I walked down to the start line with a big smile on my face.
"All my friends were in the crowd and it was just a special thing. I spent years and years living in Australia and it felt like I was racing at home but wearing red and white, of course."
Ten years on, the Olympic champion is no less competitive. He can't wait to return to Opera House, say g'day to his old mates and see if he can recapture some of old magic.
"It will be very strange for me to stand on the start line again after 10 years. It is such a huge part of my life, it changed my whole career and changed the course of my life," Whitfield said.
"It is simply the most spectacular race in the world and I am not just saying that because I won the Olympic medal there. Maybe the fact that the race hasn't been on every year makes it even more special, I am very, very glad we are back."
The ITU series replaces the old single-day world championship with a seven-race event. The second leg is May 8 in Seoul, with the grand final in Budapest on Sept. 8-12.
Special to The Globe and Mail