The most serious training Simon Whitfield does these days is playing soccer in the Saanich Beer League, which consists mostly of chefs around town.
But the two-time Olympic medallist triathlete will have a hand in cooking up future Olympians for sa国际传媒 with the $2-million CIBC Team Next program, which will assist 67 young athletes who are showing promise on the international stage.
Each of the 67 athletes will receive a $5,000 grant for the next three years for a total of $15,000 and mentorship from veteran Olympians Whitfield, Kara Lang of soccer, Bruny Surin of track, Mary Spencer of boxing, Mark De Jonge of kayaking and Paralympian Josh Cassidy of wheelchair racing.
Terms of any compensation supplied to the veteran Olympians for their time were not disclosed.
Whitfield will be assigned to mentor the sa国际传媒 group of recipients in the program.
鈥淰ictoria and Vancouver are such meccas for amateur sport and I鈥檓 really looking forward to this,鈥� said Whitfield by phone from Toronto, where the program was announced Tuesday.
鈥淚 will answer questions and act as a sounding board. I was doing that anyway with young athletes. This formalizes it.鈥�
Whitfield said he was helped out greatly by veteran athletes when he was a young athlete coming up 鈥� citing retired Olympic-medallist rowers Silken Laumann of Victoria and Marnie McBean as being key mentors to him.
Also, in a reverse way, Whitfield said the program will help in his shift to semi-retirement after being a hyper-competitive four-time Olympian who won gold at the 2000 Sydney and silver at the 2008 Beijing Summer Games.
鈥淭he longest run I get now is weekly on the soccer pitch in the SBL. In a way, this program helps me with my own transition [from high-level international sports],鈥� noted the Victorian, who was the Canadian flag-bearer in the 2012 London Olympics opening ceremony.
To be considered for the CIBC Team Next program, athletes must be nominated by their national sports governing bodies.
The biggest lesson Whitfield said he will impart to the aspiring young athletes under his charge is not to fear the race or game and not to shrink from it.
鈥淚t鈥檚 about pressure being opportunity,鈥� he said.
鈥淚 recognized that early on.鈥�
