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RightSimon Whitfield crosses the finish line to win the first-ever Olympic men’s triathlonBelowOn the podium with his silver medal in Beijing‘I LOVE HARMONIES IN LIFE AND SYDNEY WAS ONE OF THOSE. SO MANY MAGICAL THINGS CAME INTO PLAY THERE’ SIMON WHITFIELDMY FIRST GAMESAs a Canadian who studied in Sydney, the Olympic Games in 2000 were a fairytale. My 92-year-old grandmother was on the other side of the Harbour Bridge, my dad was back in the city where he grew up, my friends from the boarding house where I had been living painted their faces green and gold [for Australia] on one side with red and white [for Canada] on the other. I graduated from high school at the same spot where the triathlon finished. There is a photo of me in my high school graduation gear and I am within 10 feet of the finish line of the Olympic triathlon.I love harmonies in life and Sydney was one of those. So many magical things came into play there.When I crashed on the bike it was almost like a cartoon moment. Riders are going left and right; here I am, this one guy who kind of skids through a little gap, only goes down for a second and keeps going. When it happened it went so slowly; I think I had hand-eye coordination that a lot of my competitors did not have because I played hockey, football and basketball growing up. I came out of the other side of the crash and thought, “Wow, I am fit.”That crash and coming back to win became part of the storyline in a Games of great harmonies for me.MY OTHER OLYMPIC HIGHLIGHTSThere was a funny moment in London in 2012. In the race I took down another athlete, Leonardo Chacón from Costa Rica – he crashed because I crashed. Afterwards he wrote this wonderful Facebook post about how I had inspired him to get into triathlon and wished me a safe recovery. I had heard about what he wrote but I was still immersed in treatment after the crash. Just as I walked out of the clinic on to the main path, I walked right into him. Of course, there were 10,000 athletes in the Olympic Village and, of all of the different people, I bumped into him at this point. We had this great moment where I apologised to him. It stood out for me about how the Olympic Games are so much bigger than just sport. That kind of kinship, that kind of friendship – it really stood out.Carrying the Canadian flag in London was also so far beyond anything else. Your country picks you to be their symbol – it was worth crashing for! When you first walk into the stadium, it is beautiful. You have this unique moment where you lead your whole nation in saying, “This is us”.74 OLYMPIC REVIEW MY GAMES