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Saturday, September 16
Whitfield battles back from wipeout
Associated Press
SYDNEY, Australia -- Simon Whitfield barely avoided kissing
the pavement when he slammed into a pack of fallen triathlon
bikers. An hour later, he bent down and gleefully kissed the
winner's podium.
|  | | Simon Whitfield won the men's triathlon to give Canada its first medal of the 2000 Games. |
The Canadian righted himself after a 15-rider crash on the final
lap of the bike race through downtown Sydney, then sprinted past
Germany's Stephan Vuckovic in the final 200 meters of the running
segment to win the Olympic men's triathlon.
"When the crash happened, I had my little hissy fit,"
Whitfield said. "I just put my feet down, slid a little bit,
screamed a bit and got back on my bike."
Whitfield, wearing a new bathing suit that arrived only hours
earlier from Canada, thrust his arms in the air as he crossed the
finish line in 1 hour, 48 minutes, 24 seconds Sunday (Saturday
night ET).
Whitfield kissed the winner's podium and looked to the sky in
amazement before accepting his gold medal from International
Olympic Committee vice president Dick Pound, also a Canadian.
Whitfield then buried his face in his hands as "Oh Canada" blared
across the plaza in front of the Sydney Opera House.
"All I've been saying for months is, `All I want to do is hear
my anthem,"' he said. "And when I did, it really got to me."
Vuckovic, who stopped before the finish line to grab a German
flag from the crowd and waltzed across the line waving the flag,
won the silver medal. Jan Rehula of the Czech Republic won the
bronze.
All three medalists made up nearly a minute in the running
portion of the event. Reigning world champion Olivier Marceau of
France led after the bike race, but faded on the second and final
lap of the run on an unseasonably warm morning, with temperatures
in the low 70s. Marceau finished seventh.
Hunter Kemper was the top American in 17th place. Ryan Bolton,
of Gillette, Wyo., was 25th and Nick Radkewich finished 40th.
The race was a bitter disappointment for host Australia, which
had expected at least one medal and perhaps a sweep of the top
three positions. No Australian finished in the top five, with Miles
Stewart sixth, Craig Walton 27th and Peter Robertson 34th.
Whitfield, 25, from Kingston, Ontario, spent part of his
childhood in Australia and has a 96-year-old grandmother who still
lives a few miles from the triathlon course.
As Whitfield made his final push to overcome Vuckovic, Canadian
coach Barrie Shepley jumped for joy.
"Oh my God!" Shepley yelled, "I'm going to cry like a baby!"
Whitfield was wearing a new one-piece suit that exposed most of
his chest to the air. When he first got it the previous night,
Shepley said, it was so tight Whitfield could hardly fit into it.
Just as with the women's race a day earlier, won by Brigitte
McMahon of Switzerland, the men's triathlon was contested on a
sunny day. The two triathlons used the same course, starting and
finishing in front of the landmark opera house.
Walton was fastest in the 1,500-meter swim, finishing that
segment through chilly Sydney Harbor in 17 minutes, 17 seconds for
a one-second lead over Simon Lessing of Britain.
Walton led for most of the 25-mile bike race, but Marceau and
South Africa's Conrad Stoltz broke away from the pack on lap five
and built a 56-second lead as the two running laps began around the
Royal Botanic Gardens.
Marceau quickly ran away from Stoltz, building a 20-second lead,
and had a 50-second lead over the pack. By the end of the first
running lap, Marceau's lead was down to 18 seconds.
Vuckovic took the lead with about two miles left in the 6¾-mile
running segment, but Whitfield -- known for his closing speed -- kept
close until making his final push. Vuckovic said he knew he was in
trouble if the race came down to a late sprint.
"With about 500 meters left, I saw he was 4 meters behind me
and I said, `It's finished. Goodbye,"' Vuckovic said.
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