Olympic gold medalist and international triathlon star Simon Whitfield was inducted to the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame this morning.
The Kingston, Ontario product who now calls Victoria home was inducted alongside Carol Huynh, Cindy Klassen, Mike Weir, NHL great Lanny McDonald, Gaylor Powless and the Edmonton Grads women’s basketball team.
The induction adds to the list of honors Whitfield has amassed over his 14 year triathlon career, highlighted by his historic gold medal finish at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and gold medal performance at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester.
“you want to represent Canada, you want to hear the national anthem, you want to set your goals and dream big,” Whitfield says, “somewhere in the back of your mind you want to one day be a part of a wonderful legacy of athletes in this country, to be recognized in that way, it was special.”
Whitfield also spoke about living in Victoria and what it means to him.
“Victoria is a special community, there is so much opportunity it makes you truly appreciate not only what it means to be a Canadian but also what it means to be a British Columbian and to call Victoria home.”
Tyler Bennett
