Simon Whitfield visited C3 for Kids of Steel Triathlon 

By Robert Belardi 

The 2000 Olympic gold medallist Simon Whitfield visited Caledon on Sunday. 

In front of a record number of youths at Mayfield Pool and Arena, Whitfield visited his former coach Barrie Shepley to promote long running Kids of Steel Triathlon.

Both Shepley and Whitfield were roommates at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.

Whitfield, in his Olympic debut that year, won his first and only Olympic gold at the games in Triathlon.  

Whitfield, would go on to participate in the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004, Beijing 2008, and London in 2012. 

In Beijing, he captured his second-ever Olympic medal.

Whitfield was the flag bearer in 2012 and retired in October 2013 following the competition.

“Simon Whitfield is a Canadian icon and it was an honour for my wife Caron Shepley and I to host Simon in Caledon” Shepley said. 

In a written statement from Shepley to the Caledon Citizen, Whitfield said he first entered Kids of Steel 35 years ago and returned to Caledon to bring his journey to full circle. 

C3 has had numerous successes bringing athletes to the Olympics such as Andrew Yorke and Kyle Jones. 

“Having world class sponsors like Benson Steel, Royal Containers, Kinetico, Nuvo Iron, RA Tech and James Dick have allowed C3 to host events like the Kids of Steel Triathlon,” Shepley said.

The journey, for many of the youth who came out on Sunday begins now. Families with an interest in getting involved at C3 may visit www.c3online.ca.