ITU World Championships

Simon Whitfield Puts Down Season-Best Result in Return to Beijing at

ITU Triathlon World ChampionshipSeries Grand Final

—Top Canadian reclaims some Olympic magic to post 13th-place finish—

BEIJING, China—Canada’s Simon Whitfield put together the best race of his season when it counted most, posting a 13th-place finish in Saturday’s Grand Final of the ITU World Championship Series in Beijing, China.

The 36-year-old Victoria native battled through cool, rainy and slippery conditions on the 2008 Olympic course to clock a time of one hour, 49 minutes, 18 seconds (1:49:18).

“I raced really well,” said Whitfield at the finish area. “I swam really well, positioned myself on the bike, and the running level is just a notch ahead of me, but it is not a big gap.”

Whitfield and his Canadian mates, Victoria’s Brent McMahon and Kyle Jones of Oakville, Ont., all came out of the Shisanling reservoir with the lead pack of 20 after a quick 1.5-kilometre swim. Sitting at the back of the lead group of riders for thefirst four of six loops on the challenging 40-kilometre bike course that features one of the longest and toughest climbs on the elite circuit, Whitfield worked his way near the front of the pack to set himself up for the 10-kilometre run.

“I felt really good going up that hill every time. I think everybody struggled at one point on the bike but I got it back together. I felt much more comfortable on the run today,” said Whitfield, who admitted to reliving some of the Olympic magic he had in 2008 when he electrified the nation with his silver-medal run.

“I clicked my hand where I dropped my hat (in 2008). I didn’t have a visor on so I clicked my hand. I would have like to have caught Bryukhankov, but there was no way I was going to let anyone pass me. It was my carpet.”

The 30-year-old McMahon dropped to 38th spot at 1:51:38 after a strong swim and bike, while Jones, 26, suffered a flat rear wheel at the base of the hill on his fifth lap, and was forced to pull out of the race.

Struggling to find his top stride in 2011 that has twice catapulted Whitfield onto the Olympic podium,Saturday’s performance proved the relentless warrior has the confidence he can pull one more Olympic punch on the world’s best triathletes.

“I think we are ‘lying in wait’ right now,” said Whitfield. “The consistency through this winter and next summer is going to come from ‘lying in wait’ to getting back in the game again.”

Great Britain’s Allistair Brownlee made sure there was nobody between him and the finishing tape on Saturday. Brownlee wasted no time after the second transition to break away from the field for his third World Championship crown with a time of 1:48:07. The victory also secured Brownlee the Overall World Championship Series title for 2011.

Allistair’s younger brother Jonathan ran stride-for-stride with him over the first two loops on the run before being falling back where he eventually was caught by the chase group of four athletes. Switzerland’s Sven Riederer overtook the younger Brownlee to win the silver medal with a time of 1:48:14. Jonathan Brownlee hung on for third place after stopping the clock at 1:48:17.

The Grand Final of the ITU World Championship Series wraps up Sunday in Beijing with elite women and junior men’s races.

Triathlon Canada is the governing body for triathlon in the country. Recognized as an Olympic medal sport since 2000, Triathlon Canada’s mandate is to promote, foster, organize and develop the sport of triathlon, and its related disciplines, in Canada. For more information on Triathlon Canada, please visit us at www.triathloncanada.com on the Internet.

Complete World Championship Series Results (1.5 km swim, 40 km bike, 10 km run): www.triathlon.org

Top-Five Men’s Results and Canadian Results;

1. Allistair Brownlee, GBR, 1:48:07; 2. Sven Riederer, SUI, 1:48:14; 3. Jonathan Brownlee, GBR, 1:48:17; 4. Dmitry Polyansky, RUS, 1:48:20; 5. Laurent Vidal, FRA, 1:48:24.

Canadian Results:

13. Simon Whitfield, Victoria, 1:49:18; 38. Brent McMahon, Victoria, 1:51:38; DNF. Kyle Jones, Oakville, Ont.