Posted: February 10, 2005

Triathlon: Olympian Simon Whitfield Joins Competition Zone

Olympic Champion Simon Whitfield Teams Up With New Performance Coach With Eye On Return To Podium In 2008

Canadian triathlete Simon Whitfield, an Olympic Gold Medallist in 2000, has recruited a new performance coach as he works towards a return to the podium in 2008 at the Olympic Games in Beijing, China.

Whitfield has signed up with Competition Zone, a personal coaching company led by Joel Filliol from Paris, Ontario. Filliol is one of Canada> '> s most experienced triathlon coaches, having been involved in endurance sport for over 15 years as an athlete and coach.

" I'm very excited to be working with Joel, "> said Whitfield.

"His commitment and passion were evident right from the beginning. He is detail oriented and takes a very holistic approach to training and racing. His approach will be a great complement to my training under Olympic Coach Lance Watson and I look forward to building on that success over the next four years leading into the Olympics in Beijing. "

" It's a privilege and honour to be chosen by Simon as his coach leading into the next stage of his career,> "> said Filliol." A talented and accomplished athlete like Simon can make amazing performances look easy, but there is a lot of hard work and preparation behind the scenes and I look forward to working on the finer details that will allow Simon to continue to improve and find new successes."

Whitfield's first competition of the 2005 triathlon season will be the Lavaman Triathalon in Hawaii on April 3, followed by an ITU World Cup competition in Honolulu on April 17. He has enjoyed tremendous success at ITU World Cup events, winning nine events since his Olympic victory in 2000.

Recent Simon Whitfield Career Highlights

 2004 Olympic Summer Games				11th
2004 ITU Caledon Americas Continental Triathlon		1st
2004 ITU World Cup - Mazatlan, Mexico			1st
2004 ITU World Cup - Honolulu, Hawaii			1st
2003 ITU World Cup - New York City, USA		1st
2003 ITU World Cup - Edmonton, Canada			1st
2003 ITU World Cup - Victoria, Canada			1st
2003 Lifetime Fitness Battle of the Sexes			1st - Men's/2nd - 
Overall
2002 Commonwealth Games				Gold
2002 ITU World Cup - Cornerbrook, Canada		1st
2002 ITU World Cup - Edmonton, Canada			1st
2002 ITU World Cup - Geelong, Australia			1st
2000 Olympic Summer Games				Gold

The Competition Zone website is at: CompetitionZone.com.