By STAFF WRITER -- Toronto Sun
  TORONTO -- For Simon Whitfield, heading to Sydney as part of Canada's triathlon team is like going home again.

 Whitfield spent three years in the Australian capital, from 1993-96, training for triathlon and finishing high school.

 The triathlon, a 1.5-km swim, 40-km bike and 10-km run, will be featured for the first time as an Olympic sport at the Sydney Olympics next month.

 Whitfield said he knew his destiny 10 years ago, when he told his home-town paper, the Kingston Whig-Standard, that he was moving to Australia to become an Olympic triathlete.

 Whitfield, whose father Geoff was born in Australia, holds an Australian passport and technically said he could have competed for the Australian team "but my mom would have killed me."

 "I was enamoured with Australia when I was a little kid," he said. "But once I left Canada, I learned to appreciate what we have -- our winter, our hockey, The Tragically Hip!"

 Training buddies

 In Sydney, Whitfield met his training partner, Australian Greg Bennett.

 Together, they worked to improve Whitfield's weakest discipline -- swimming. Whitfield said he swam nine times a week, which included five 5 a.m. practices.

 The pair returned to Canada in 1996 and set up training camp in Victoria.

 Since his return, Whitfield has become a two-time Canadian triathlon champion (1998-99) and earned a bronze medal at last year's Pan American Games in Winnipeg.

 National coach Barry Shepley calls Whitfield the "rah-rah" guy of the team.

 "He's the energy of the team," said Shepley. "He's the one that calls you up in the morning to go for the run. He's the one that brings everyone together at supper."