Canada’s Simon Whitfield, right, currently second place to an unseen runner, leads Simon Lessing of Great Britain in the run leg in the men’s Olympic triathlon across from the Sydney Opera House, Sunday, Sept. 17, 2000 | Rick Rycroft/The Associated Press
Australians dominated the sport heading into the 2000 Sydney Olympics. That’s one of the reasons why triathlon was added to the program for their home Games, and why the women’s and men’s events were scheduled for the first two days of competition (Sept. 16 and 17). They were supposed to help get the host country fired up.
Meanwhile, no one expected much from the 25-year-old Whitfield, who’d never won a top-level international race. Except for Whitfield. Fuelled by borderline-irrational confidence, a nothing-to-lose mentality and just plain old guts, he hung around during the swim and bike stages and then made his big move in the closing 10-km run — his specialty. His thrilling finishing kick for the upset gold-medal win is one of the great moments in Canadian Olympic history. And he went on to add a silver with another gutsy, exciting run eight years later in Beijing. Read more about how Whitfield won gold in Sydney in his own words (and the words of other key figures involved) in this oral history by CBC Sports’ Myles Dichter with video by Steve Tzemis.
Friendship First, Competition Second – An Amateur Sport Website 