Simon's stretch run
Whitfield getting into gear to defend Olympic triathlon gold
By ROB LONGLEY, TORONTO SUN
The next time Simon Whitfield travels to Athens, he'll pay a little more attention to what he eats and a little less to the scenery. Canada's gold-medal-winning triathlete from the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney is amping up his training regimen to make a bid at retaining his title this August in Greece.
After a pair of impressive victories in April following a disappointing end to the 2003 season, Whitfield has shown the world he will be a medal threat.
One of Whitfield's biggest busts last season was a DNF at an Olympic preview event in Athens.
"The focus wasn't there for that race," Whitfield said this week in an interview from his Vancouver Island retreat. "I wanted to take in the course and the environment so I would be ready this summer. The trouble was, I didn't pay attention to the actual fact that I had to race.
"I got to the race and plain and simple I screwed up."
It didn't help that the night before he was to compete, Whitfield enjoyed a tasty dinner of Greek cuisine with his father.
That didn't sit to well, nor did a handful of apricots and flax bread he woofed down too close to race time.
"It was a good lesson, it showed I have to stay task-oriented," Whitfield said. "It wasn't all bad though. I got out of the race what I wanted, which was learning about the course."
Whitfield hasn't done much to screw up lately as he enters the most serious phase of his Olympic-year training. The Kingston native has been resting for the past two weeks after back-to-back wins in an International Triathlon Union event in Mexico and a U.S. Olympic qualifier in Hawaii.
"I did the big winter push in terms of training, now I'm just taking two weeks off and getting ready to go for it again," Whitfield said.
After the bust in Athens, Whitfield finished 31st at the World Championships in Queensland, New Zealand to end his year. While he'll take the two wins to kick off 2004, Whitfield wasn't entirely pleased with all of his mechanics.
"I didn't corner well (on the cycling leg), I didn't have much high-end running speed so I'll have to address those," Whitfield said. "Over the next few weeks, we will be very analytical of every aspect.
"I made a promise to myself not to get beaten by people who don't prepare well enough. We're all basically of the same physical ability when you are at the top level. Now it comes down to preparation."
Starting Monday, that preparation will get serious. The next eight weeks will be crucial in laying the physical groundwork for what he hopes to be a repeat performance in Greece.
"It will basically be eat, sleep and train," said Whitfield, who will alternate between Victoria and Penticton B.C. as training bases. "The attention to detail will be enormous with very little rest involved. It will be more quantity over quality the next four weeks."
As for the Olympic venue he spent so much time admiring last year, Whitfield said the scenery should be a good showcase for his sport.
"It's a fantastic course with a tough bike course which I like," Whitfield said. "The course runs along the ocean and up the hill and the run right around these little Greek shops. It's just spectacular."
As long as he goes easy on the tzatziki.
