Six year old Eric is playing basketball in his backyard, he takes a few wobbly shots, some actually hit the backboard, while most graze the net and make it whiff as if the wind caught it. None go in, but Eric keeps trying, because Simon said it was a good idea. One shot deflects off the edge of the backboard and caroms into the cedars, it wedges firmly between branches; I help him retrieve the ball. Suddenly in a spasm of joy, he remembers what happened at school earlier in the day. He looks up at me as I hand him the ball, eyes ablaze and the size of garbage can lids, "YOU KNOW WHAT, CHRIS?"

"Sure I know what, W-H-A-T."

"Noooo, we had an assem bow lee in the gym and Simon Whitfield was there and he put his gold medal on me and I got to run around the gym in front of everyone with it on, THAT'S WHAT!"

The story got longer, but as he told it, Eric became completely surrounded by other kids. "Where's Eric?" his mom asks. "Dead centre in the middle of those kids, telling his Whitfield story."

Back in 2000, shortly after Simon Whitfield won the Olympic Gold medal in dramatic fashion, he was everywhere, or so it seemed. I remember being at the track and often times when kids were around, they would be hounding him for an autograph or a word. There are a few Canadians who instantly come to mind that embody our romanticized vision of our collective persona; polite, humble, perhaps self-deprecating and funny. Names that come immediately to mind are Wayne Gretzky, Steve Nash, Silken Laumann and Simon Whitfield.

A common attribute among these athletes is their own personal way of projecting the prototypical Canadian spirit. Yet, they also have the ability to instill fear into their competitors. Following is a totally honest, funny, and very self-deprecating Simon in an un-orthodox discussion of what he is up to in anticipation of the Olympics and the coming triathlon season.

CK: Simon, there is a very long list of great Olympians in middle distance running and endurance sports that seem to rise to the occasion or in the parlance of those privy to training, peak right on time. You seem to be very skilled at peaking, racing less often than other top level triathletes. With you committing to the World's in June, in Vancouver and the Olympics in Beijing in late summer, I'm guessing you are most focused on the Olympic Games?

SQW: Olympics only happen every four years. Although the Worlds are very important, Olympic gold is the number one priority.

CK: Years ago, triathletes could get away with being a little weaker in one of the three disciplines. And it is natural that athletes are stronger in one. For instance you have always been an outstanding runner first and foremost, but now there is talk of your strength in swimming, for instance you coming out of the water first to win an ITU event earlier this year.

Has the competition gained enough now that you need to be very near the top few out of the water and maintain that place on the bike, to be in the hunt? No more coming back 30 places on the bike to win in the final 100m of the run?

SQW: Yes, basically the game changed with Javier Gomez coming onto the scene. Javier came out strong in all three disciplines. He showed up and would come first out of the water, do well on the bike, then crush everyone in the run. It was really my coach Joel Filliol and I figuring I needed to take a step back, to take two steps forward. So we spent the last two years working a lot on the swimming. So where people are saying 'comeback' in terms of how I am doing now, really it was a matter of simplifying and applying the acronym, Keep It Simple Stupid and making the sacrifice to become a better swimmer.

It's a matter of quietly putting your head down and getting the training done.

Quote from an earlier interview published in the Ottawa Citizen:

"It used to be that if you weren't a good swimmer, you could make it up in the bike or the run," says Whitfield. But now, the athletes who are first out of the water are strong enough to maintain their lead, he says. "I've invested the last two years in getting better at swimming so I could put myself back into the front of the race."

CK: Now there is a rumor I heard that when you retire from triathlon (whenever that may be), you may switch to running. I can see you running the marathon pretty fast. If you did run the marathon and ran quite well, would you take the sport seriously?

SQW: I don't know about that. I am very happy doing exactly what I am doing right now and will keep at it as long as I can compete at this level. Now if I went and played water polo and discovered I loved it and was good at it, if I didn't drown and get beaten up, who knows maybe I would do that, or Polo with horses or whatever I found I loved I would look at, but right now this is what I love doing.

I also hate it when people say "when I am done swimming or cycling, I will switch to triathlon." They say this like it is easy. I couldn't say that about running. I don't know what it is like to train as a runner, 100 or 150 miles per week. I don't know if I could do that. I have more respect for running than that. And of course the depth in running is another matter.

CK: I know you played many sports as a kid and that you have said that as long as kids play a variety of sports and JUST PLAY first and foremost, a child can focus later. It appears you were smart or lucky in discovering your focus should be an endurance sport, choosing triathlon. At what age did you decide that it's time to abandon all the other sports and get serious?

SQW: Around 17 I started in earnest preparing for being in the Olympics. I was in the program, Kids of Steel (KOS) when I was younger, although mostly a middle-of-the-pack athlete at that time.

CK: Is Jenny (Simon's better half) athletic too?

SQW: Oh yeah, we show up at altitude and she climbs Mt. Lemmon, 14 miles up. I found it tough! She get's part way up and is looking for her water bottle so she can continue on and finish the ride, yeah she is quietly athletic.

CK: So PK (Simon's 6 month old daughter) has some solid athletic genes! She is a very photogenic baby and clearly the apple of your eye. As dad's little girl gets older, do you secretly hope she has a little tom boy edge?

SQW: No, not really. Basically, I cannot draw; I have no artistic talent whatsoever. I am generally just, all athlete. I would be over the moon if she inherited her great grandparent's artistic talents.

CK: Which Newfie for Prime Minister? Rick Mercer or Rex Murphy (psst Rex is a Rhodes Scholar)?

SQW: I love Rick Mercer, he is hilarious! And Rex Murphy, how can you not respect Rex? But my vote for Prime Minister from the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador would be Professor Michael Newton from Sir Wilfred Grenfell College in Corner Brook, he would be my choice.

CK: I know you are a fan of Hawksley Workman, does Hawksley's, Between the Beautiful CD stand up to his very popular Lover/Fighter?

SQW: Yes it's good, it takes a few listens. I find that with all of his music, at first I need a few listens before I can get into it. When I first heard Hawksley, I wasn't sure I even liked his music at all, but now of course I very much do. Another great listen is Craig Cardiff. We had Craig over at our house playing live. We had to re-do our floors, so we just ripped up the carpet and let everyone (40 people) sit on the floor like that. It was brilliant! He plays guitar, he is a singer-songwriter of folk, live looping stories and song.

CK: Being from Kingston, do you listen to the Tragically Hip?

SQW: You HAVE to listen to the Tragically Hip. I went to the same school as those guys in Kingston Ontario, where I grew up, before moving to Sydney, Australia for the last year of high school.

CK: How about UFC?

SQW: No I hate it.

CK: Regardless could you pull a submission hold on Canadian Ironman, Jasper Blake?

SQW: No way! Jasper would figure out how to get out of it, if anyone could get out of it Jasper could ...he would get down...and ...well, he is a dwarf. I am just an elf, it's the dwarfs who always beat the elves, Jasper is a gnome or a dwarf or something ...yeah he's a dwarf.

CK's note: Jasper is actually a dwarf and would probably dominate the dwarf class at UFC. Watch out Brock!

SQW: Jasper is actually an incredible athlete, a wonderful skier; the Austrian Ski Federation wanted to video him skiing because his form was impeccable. Then he got a tennis scholarship in the US, he is excellent at tennis and of course one of Canada's top Ironman triathletes, if not the best right now.

CK: But he is still a dwarf.

SQW: Yes, he is still a dwarf and he is good at that too.

CK: Being a dwarf?

SQW: Yes, like I said he is good at everything.

CK: I understand you have been suggesting that you are a very good floor hockey player. Could you take Jasper in floor hockey?

SQW: No, I'd have to get dirty and give him a cross-check in the teeth.

CK: You and Jasper have young kids you can get together and let them play!

SQW: No way! PK cannot get together with Jasper's little guy. Forget it! Especially when they get older; I sense trouble.

Back to training talk.

CK: I notice in the press you have talked about how your team is working well together and getting stronger. There is talk of socializing, camaraderie, "making room for all levels" and camps, like at Flagstaff, Arizona.

You are at the very least, a leader and an example, having won at the top level with Commonwealth Games Gold, Olympic Gold and winning various ITU events. Do you feel an added sense of responsibility beyond just being a team mate, ala Captain sort of speak? If so, is this all a prelude to a greater leadership role in the future for you?

SQW: I never really think about that, I do like to mentor the younger athletes. Working as a group with common expectations of each other creates a fantastic training environment. I don't know if I have thought about a leadership role at all. Sometimes I come away thinking do I even know what I am talking about? Sometimes I wonder if they think the same thing (laughs out loud).

CK's note: I phone Simon on deadline day. When he answers the phone, it sounds like PK is on the phone too. This is great, because baby sounds are hilarious. And Dad struggling to eat, hang onto baby and coherently talk on the phone makes for a real life scenario. So I ask one last question (testing Simon's patience).

CK: Back to family, before the world of the politically correct communication standards that exist today, it has been said that 'behind every great man is a great woman'. So how great do you have it?

SQW: (With a very vocal PK also on the phone) HA HA! How can I possibly answer that any other way? Very Great! I am a lucky man.

Well lucky man, thanks for your time. Canadians from Corner Brook to Kingston and all the way to Victoria will be cheering for you through your triathlon season, especially from June to September. All the best!

 Scroll down for comments section

 

 

 

Contact Chris: chriskelsall@flocasts.org