Simon Whitfield

Picture from Harry magazine.

I've been enjoying watching a lot of the Olympics. And I was really looking forward to catching the men's triathlon. Sadly, it didn't actually start until 10 last night so I was able to watch only the first few minutes before sleep took me.

Since 2000 I have been aware of a young man by the name of Simon Whitfield. He was the gold medalist in Men's Triathlon in Sydney at the tender age of 25. A series of unfortunate events led to a poorer showing in 2004, but last night (or today, depending on where you are) Simon won silver for Canada. Yay!!

I have always been a fan of multi-event sports like heptathlon, decathlon, and the trithalon. In my wildest dreams, I'm participating in the trithalon. I'm afraid I don't like running, though, and I can't so much more than a mean dog paddle in the water, but put me on a bike and I can go for miles it seems. And I love to watch the event.

Simon Whitfield was asked to be an ambassador for the MS Society of Canada in 2001. And he agreed. The reason he was asked? His uncle had been living with MS since 1980.

“He is incredible,” said Mr. Whitfield, who de-
scribes his uncle as one of the most inspiring people he
has ever known. “Coping with his MS, he runs an
Olympic triathlon everyday. Any hardship or obstacle
I face, pales in comparison.”

Even though I'm not an elite athlete, I like to imagine myself as one. And yesterday, on the way back from a mere 15 k ride, for the last half kilometre, I pretended I was finishing the triathlon. I won gold, by the way.

S.