BEIJING (With files from Canadian Press and ITU) – Simon Whitfield’s incredible come-from-behind performance at the men’s triathlon in Beijing on August 19 allowed him to capture the silver medal, making him only the second triathlete to win multiple Olympic medals. He crossed the finish line five seconds behind German gold medallist Jan Frodeno's time of one hour 48 minutes 53 seconds.
The 2000 Olympic gold medallist used tactics and sheer determination to make his way back to the podium after finishing in 11th place in Athens four years ago.
The 33-year-old Kingston, Ont., native who now calls Victoria home looked like he was getting dropped by world champion Javier Gomez of Spain, Olympic silver medallist Bevan Docherty of New Zealand and Frodeno as the four entered the transition zone on the reservoir's dam for the last time.
But Whitfield rolled up behind them on the backstretch of the run and powered past all three before the turn about 100 metres from the finish line. He was running for gold again, but Frodeno had something left in the tank and nipped Whitfield with 40 metres to go.
They paid a heavy physical price as Frodeno sprawled on his back past the finish line and Whitfield staggered across it ahead of Docherty.
"Having been through this eight years ago and to be able to fight my way back onto the podium, that was hard, that was so hard," Whitfield said. "This was a harder than Sydney was. But I tried. I tried really hard. And for a moment there, I thought I had it."
If he had to do it all over again, Whitfield said he would start his finishing kick at the same time because he'd been outrun too many times by Docherty.
"I wanted to discourage him and put it out there that if 'you're going to beat me, you're going to hurt way more,"' Whitfield explained. "I had to get rid of him.
"Jan just went and the way he went, he was just going anyway. He would have done it with 20 metres to go or from there, so I made him make a decision early.
"I could see him on my inside there and I gave it one more crack just to see if I could break him, but then you just start tying up and that hurt a lot."
For the first time in the Olympics, Whitfield had the help of a team racer, Colin Jenkins of Hamilton, Ont., acting in the capacity known as a domestique. A strong swimmer and cyclist, Jenkins stayed at the front of the massive peleton to cover any breakaway attempts and draft for Whitfield during the bike leg.
Jenkins, who finished in 50th place, crossed the finish line and celebrated Whitfield’s victory as his own.
"It just shows teamwork works and everyone who says it doesn't, they're just in denial," Jenkins said. "Look what happened – a medal. That's what we wanted. We worked so hard on this and it showed our strategy worked.
“I have been known to be a strong swimmer and on the bike so it is amazing I could help out. This is for Canada and I'm thrilled.
"I watched Simon come down the stretch as I was leaving the stadium for my last lap. I wanted to stay and watch. It was such an incredible moment."
The third Canadian in the race, Paul Tichelaar of Edmonton, was 28th.
Photo: Frank Wechsel, triathlon.org
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