Whitfield hopes his first world title is on home soil
MATTHEW SEKERES
From Tuesday's Globe and Mail
May 19, 2008 at 10:24 PM EDT
VANCOUVER — Normally, in an Olympic year, Canadian triathlete Simon Whitfield would be thinking about one race and one race only.
But this year is different. So different, in fact, that Whitfield admitted yesterday he has two focuses.
Yes, there is the Olympic triathlon in Beijing this August and a chance for Whitfield to win a second gold medal.
There is also the world championships next month in Vancouver.
Canadian triathlete Simon Whitfield runs out of the waters of English Bay following a media availability to promote the upcoming world triathlon championships in Vancouver Monday. (Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press)
Whitfield already has an Olympic gold on his mantelpiece, from Sydney in 2000 when the sport made its debut at the Games, but he has never won at the world championships.
More at the Globe and Mail
Top-eight finish at worlds would boost Sweetland’s quest for Beijing berth
Gary Kingston, Canwest News Service
Published: Monday, May 19, 2008
VANCOUVER -- Her nickname is Sweets, which is an apt description of her demeanor.
And at barely five feet and just 108 pounds, teenage triathlon phenom Kirsten Sweetland, all freckles and dazzling smile, looks more angelic than a Disney parade dancer.
But underneath that wholesome exterior is one tough girl, hardened in part by the fact she trains in Victoria with a mostly male group led by 2000 Olympic champion Simon Whitfield.
"It's a rough-and-tumble kind of atmosphere and they hold nothing back anymore," says Sweetland, on a drizzly Monday afternoon. "There's no more ear muffs for me.
"It's good. It makes me tough. We do open water swims together and I get pushed under water and beat up. I'm pretty much treated like one of the guys."
More at the National Post
Sweetland hopes less is more as she prepares for world triathlon championships
VANCOUVER — After surviving a gruelling 10-race schedule last season triathlete Kirsten Sweetland is taking a less-is-more approach as she prepares for next month's world championship and a chance to qualify for this summer's Olympic Games.
Sweetland needs a top-eight finish in the June 8 world championship race to punch her title to Beijing. The 1.5-kilometre swim, 40-km bike ride and 10-km run event will be held in and around Vancouver's Stanley Park.
That's a short ferry ride from Sweetland's home in Victoria, but the 19-year-old denies she'll be nervous on the start line.
"I get excited but I've never been the type of person that gets nervous," Sweetland said Monday during a news conference where the province of B.C. pledged $400,000 towards the hosting of the event. "I'm hoping to stick with that.
More at the Canadian Press
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