ISHIGAKI, Japan - Canadian triathlete Simon Whitfield opened his World Cup season with a bang Sunday.
Whitfield, the 2000 Olympic champion from Victoria, won the Ishigaki BG Triathlon World Cup event in one hour 51 minutes 12 seconds. It was Whitfield's 11th career World Cup victory, leaving him tied for second all-time with New Zealand's Hamish Carter.
"That was good, a great way to start the year," Whitfield said on the event's website. "I've been coming here for 12 years and never been close to the podium.
"When I was running along I was thinking 'Come on, this might be my last time here so I have to win this thing.' It's my first win in Japan so it's a thrill, never done that."
But the victory didn't come easily as second-place finisher Rasmus Henning of Denmark finished just 10 seconds behind. Russia's Ivan Vasiliev was third, 21 seconds behind Whitfield.
The event consisted of a 1.5-kilometre swim, 40-kilometre bike ride, then a 10-kilometre run.
Hamilton's Colin Jenkins finished 23rd overall with a time of 1:53.05.
Kathy Tremblay of Montreal was fifth in the women's race in 2:05.57. Australian Emma Snowsill captured the gold medal in 2:03:10.
