20 years ago, Simon Whitfield won the first ever triathlon Olympic gold medal
I remember watching that come-from-behind sprint to the finish live, and it's still as epic as it was in 2000
Hello -
I hope you’re doing all right as we settle into fall.
This week’s issue looks at one of the biggest sports moments in Canadian history — Simon Whitfield’s triathlon Olympic gold medal in 2000 — and rounds up some news, podcasts and more for you to check out.
Let’s get to it!
— Erin @Run the North
20 years ago, Simon Whitfield won the first triathlon Olympic gold medal
Triathlon was added to the Olympics for the 2000 Games in Sydney Australia. 52 men and 48 women competed, swimming 1.5km, cycling 40km and running 10km (hence why this distance is now known as then “Olympic” distance at your local triathlon).
Canada sent one man and three women to compete in the event: Simon Whitfield, Isabelle Turcotte Baird, Sharon Donnelly and Carol Montgomery.
Simon was 25 years old and relatively unknown headed into the Olympics. But as a dual Canadian-Australian citizen (his father is Australian), he had lived and trained near the course he would be competing on. He was young, confident and ready to compete.
The men’s triathlon was contested on Sept. 17, 2000.
Simon had an unremarkable swim. His bike was OK, and managed to stay near the front of the race, even though he was involved in a minor crash. But he made remarkable progress in the run, passing more than 20 people en route to becoming the fist ever Olympic triathlon champion.
He passed Germany’s Stephan Vukovic in the final stretch to the finish. You can watch it in the video above, it’s as moving now as it was 20 years ago. (Also, as Krista DuChene pointed out on Twitter, kudos to Stephan for choosing to celebrate his silver in that final stretch instead of being distraught he lost the gold.)
CBC Sports put together an oral history of Simon’s memorable gold medal. It covered his training, his time spent in Australia before the Games (Simon has dual citizenship), the race and the aftermath. It’s a fun piece, and the entire thing is worth a read:
[Greg Bennett, Australian Olympic triathlete]: I think I was yelling at Lance, ‘I think he's going to win this. He's gonna do it.' And we're all getting really excited by now. We have tears coming down our faces and everything like it was a very, very emotional moment. And then he came, hit the bottom and then I was like nobody in the world's out running Simon with 200 metres to go. Nobody.
[Barrie Shepley, Triathlon Canada coach]: Simon, in this incredible acceleration, and he tells a story that he just pictured himself as a nine-year-old kid on a soccer field racing after the ball at the end of the field. It was just pure, little kid, crazy, wild adrenaline and he blows by the German kid. The German kid didn't even put up one ounce of try.
[Simon] Whitfield: I saw the third-place guy was catching me and I thought, ‘Oh man, bronze would be fine too.’ And then I start looking back and I started realizing fourth was catching me and I was like, ‘Oh s--t, I don't wanna come fourth.’ So I was sprinting away from fourth and all of a sudden I caught Vuckovic and then I just went right by him. The next thing I knew I was standing on top of a podium singing ‘O Canada.’
It was the biggest moment for Canada in the 2000 Olympics. Thanks to time zones, people in Canada were able to watch this victory live on a Saturday night.
Simon became a superstar overnight. He was the closing ceremonies flagbearer, and synonymous with triathlon in Canada.
In 2004, Simon placed 11th at the Games in Athens. Then in 2008 at the Beijing Olympics, he pulled off a remarkable comeback to win a silver medal. In 2012, he was the opening ceremonies flag bearer, but crashed during the race and did not finish. He would retire from competition a year later, in 2013.
Simon was added to the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame in 2019.
Athletics Canada announces unique virtual elite marathon relay challenge
Athletics Canada has announced a unique challenge for elites for Oct. 17 and 18 — what would have been Toronto Waterfront Marathon weekend.
Teams of four (men, women or a mixed team of two men and two women) can cover the marathon distance as a team for a chance to compete.
Team members can cover any distance they decide makes sense for the team, as long as each team member runs at least 5K and the total distance the team covers is 42.2K.
Racers don’t need to be together or even run consecutively. They choose their team, divide up the distance, run any time during the window, and submit their results to Athletics Canada to see where they stack up.
This won’t count for anything other than bragging rights. Athletics Canada is putting up some prizing for the fastest team in each division.
The elite version of this event is invite only. Regular runners can compete in their own virtual marathon relay by signing up through Toronto Waterfront Marathon. It’s $135 for a team of four.
Rozlyn Boutin, Dennis Mbelenzi top Canadians in virtual Boston marathon
The virtual Boston marathon took place this past weekend, with runners from around the world clocking their 42.2K on their local roads.
Rozlyn Boutin was the top Canadian woman, logging a time of 2:53:26 to finish ninth overall. Rozlyn is an MD.PhD student at the University of British Columbia. According to SportsStats, it looks like she qualified for Boston with a 3:05:48 performance at the 2019 BMO Vancouver marathon. UBC has this Q&A with Rozlyn where she says she “enjoy[s] playing soccer, running, hiking, and enjoying all that Vancouver has to offer!”
Dennis Mbelenzi was the top Canadian man, running 2:32:33 to finish 14th overall. Dennis, who is originally from Kenya and now lives in Nova Scotia, is 38 years old and works as an auditor. He has several top three finishes in Nova Scotian races.
Felix Kandie as the top overall man, finishing in 2:19:05. The top overall woman was Beth Marzigliano, who completed the race in 2:45:54.
Canadian Running has the rundown of the top 10 Canadian men and women.
You can see the full results on the Boston marathon website.
Oh and if you haven’t seen the montage the Boston marathon made to kick off their virtual post-race celebrations, you can watch it below (just click through to Twitter to view). It made me cry.
Strides: stuff to listen to and know about
🍁Sept. 20 was the virtual edition of the 2020 Terry Fox Run, which honoured the 40th anniversary of Terry’s Marathon of Hope in 1980. Terry’s brothers made the media rounds this week: Fred appeared on The Shakeout podcast and Darrell appeared on CBC Radio’s As It Happens. CBC Radio’s The Next Chapter also re-aired a 2008 interview with Darrell.
It’s not too late to make a donation to the Terry Fox Foundation to support the 40th anniversary efforts. Since 1980, they have raised more than $800 million for cancer research.
🎧The Shakeout talked to Gabriela DeBues-Stafford, who recently moved to Portland so she can train with the Bowerman Track Club. Her training got delayed, though, thanks to the wildfires ravaging the west coast of the United States. They talked about her decision to join BTC and training through COVID.
🚩Emila Benton has a great article about Ben Chan in Runner’s World, the racism he experienced while participating in the Great Virtual Race Across Tennessee (both in real life and in the race’s official Facebook group) and about racism and the need for greater representation in ultrarunning in general.
🗞CBCRadio’s As It Happens spoke to graphic designer Katherine Burgess, who spent a week cutting out coverage of men’s sports on the front page of the New York Times’ sports section and sharing the results on Instagram. They covered the lack of representation of women’s sports in media, what compelled Katherine to tackle this project and what needs to change.
🎧Chris Chavez of Sports Illustrated and Citius Mag was on Le Run Down. They talk about covering running as a journalist and Chris’s own running goal of breaking three hours in the marathon.
🌉Good news for Around the Bay fans! Hamilton’s Around the Bay 30K race was founded in 1894 and boasts the tagline “older than Boston” on its gear. The route is known for its rolling hills in the final third of the race, ending with a large twisting one at 26km. The Valley Inn Road bridge before the hill is in terrible condition, causing the route for the course to change in recent years. But the McNally Foundation has stepped in to pay the $1 million it will cost to fix it.
🏃🏿♀️If you’re looking for another virtual distance challenge, the Toronto Women Runs series is launching a 416 Run Challenge. Participants have until July 31 to run or walk 416km by July 31, 2021.
🇨🇦The 2021 Canada Games have been postponed until 2022. More than 5,000 athletes are expected to participate in this event, which is being held in Niagara.
🏅Steeplechaser Matt Hughes finished off his season with a big PB, running 3:37.20 in the 1,500 metres at the World Athletics Continental Tour meet in Croatia. Doug Harrison at CBC Sports has the recap and spoke to Matt after the race.
📖Last week, I told you about a new picture book Fauja Keeps Going, about Fauja Singh, the first 100-year-old to complete a marathon. Canadian Running spoke to the book’s author Simran Jeet Singh about why he wrote the book, the importance of Sikh representation in running and in literature and about the racism he’s experience while running.
🏒Innu grandfather and grandson, Sebastian and Aries Benuen, ran and walked 330km together to fundraise to support Aries’ hockey dreams. Aries, who is 14, wanted to attend a private hockey school in Ontario. He’s been raised by his grandparents and they’ve scarified to support Aries as he improved in the sport and needed more opportunities to be challenged and grow. The family currently lives in rural Newfoundland. They originally had the goal of raising $50,000 but ended up raising more than $75,000. CBC Newfoundland has the story.
🌟Canadian Press’s Lori Ewing looked at how virtual racing is keeping some runners motivated during the pandemic.
👟Speaking of virtual races, Jordan Marie Daniel has organized a virtual one on Indigenous Peoples Day (it’s Oct. 12) to with the goal of honouring Indigenous history, recognizing Indigenous people today and looking toward a better future for all Indigenous people. There are 5K, 10K and half-marathon options. You can also sponsor a runner who cannot afford the entry fee or just make a donation if you choose not to run.
📺Double amputee runner and activist Aristotle Domigo was featured on the Phraction YouTube channel, in a new series where they profile runners:
📺Anson Henry broke down why pacemakers are used in some track meets, like the Diamond League, for CBC Sports:
The final kick
That’s it for this week!
If you’re reading this online or it was sent to you by a friend, you can subscribe here:
Run the North covers all things Canadian running and running things Canadians might find interesting. It comes out every Monday morning.
If you want to reach out for any reason — send a link or story idea, offer a correction or feedback or just say hi — you can email me at runthenorthnews@gmail.com.
Thanks for reading and keep on running.
I’ll see you next week!