SYDNEY (CP) -- Canadian Simon Whitfield ran the race of his life Sunday, sprinting past Stephan Vuckovic of Germany with the finish line in sight to win gold in the inaugural men's triathlon at the Olympics.

 It was Canada's first medal of the Games.

 "Unbelievable," said Whitfield, who survived a crash in the bike portion of the race. "I've dreamed of this my entire life, I've dreamed about winning a gold medal. It happened today and I can't tell you how proud I am to be Canadian."

 He was 28th out of the water after the 1.5-kilometre swim (17 minutes 56.59 seconds) and 25th after the 40-kilometre bike ride (58:54.40). Then he ran down the opposition in a stunning 10-kilometre run, timing an amazing closing kick to perfection (30:53.73), which was 16 seconds faster than his German rival.

 "I felt really good the whole way. I couldn't believe it," the Canadian explained. "At one point I started thinking: 'Here I am. I'm in the lead at the Olympic Games.' Then I had to re-focus. I didn't think I had won until I turned the last corner."

 His total of one hour 48.24 seconds left Vuckovic second by 13.5 seconds and Jan Rehula of the Czech Republic third, another nine seconds back.

 Whitfield even survived a near crash on the last lap of the cycling portion, narrowly avoiding a tangle in front of him.

 "When the crash happened, I had my little hissy fit," Whitfield said. "I just put my feet down, slid a little bit, screamed a bit and got back on my bike."

 Whitfield received his gold from IOC vice-president Dick Pound of Montreal.

 The Canadian, the top-ranked North American in the Olympic field, smiled and kissed the podium before stepping up to get his medal.

 He was overcome with emotion as O Canada played and the Maple Leaf was slowly raised against the stunning backdrop of Sydney Harbour.

 "I had said all week that I just wanted to hear our anthem," Whitfield explained. "I can't tell you how proud I am to be Canadian. I just always wanted to be our flag to be up at the top of the podium, on top of the pole."

 The 25-year-old from Kingston, Ont., who now calls Victoria home, entered the race ranked 13th in the world. He was ninth at the 1999 world championships.

 Whitfield, wearing a new bathing suit that arrived only hours earlier from Canada, thrust his arms in the air as he crossed the finish line in the shadow of the Sydney Opera House.

 Later, he said he and Vuckovic, a friend, had often talked about who was the fastest. They found out as the Olympic finish line neared.

 "It was all about who wanted it from there," said a jubilant Whitfield.

 All three medallists made up nearly a minute in the running portion of the event. Reigning world champion Olivier Marceau of France led by almost a minute clear of an enormous pack after the bike race, but faded on the second and final lap of the run on an unseasonably warm morning, with temperatures in the low 20s.

 The race was a bitter disappointment for host Australia, which had expected at least one medal and perhaps a sweep of the top three. No Australian finished in the top five, with Miles Stewart the top Aussie at sixth.

 As Whitfield made his final push to overcome Vuckovic, Canadian coach Barrie Shepley jumped for joy.

 "Oh my God," Shepley yelled, "I'm going to cry like a baby!"

 The win helped make up for the bitter disappointment of Canadian Carol Montgomery's crash in Saturday's women's triathlon.

 Favourite Simon Lessing of Britain finished ninth and Australian Craig Walton, the leader from the swim, could not live with the pace of the run and finished back in the field.

 Walton was fastest in the 1,500-metre swim, finishing that segment through chilly Sydney Harbour in 17 minutes 17 seconds for a one-second lead over Simon Lessing of Britain.

 Walton led for most of the bike race, but Marceau and South Africa's Conrad Stoltz broke away from the pack on Lap 5 and built a 56-second lead as the two running laps began around the Royal Botanic Gardens.

 Marceau quickly ran away from Stoltz, building a 20-second lead, and had a 50-second lead over the pack. By the end of the first running lap, Marceau's lead was down to 18 seconds. Marceau ended up finishing seventh.

 Vuckovic took the lead with about 3.2 kilometres left, but Whitfield -- known for his closing speed -- kept close until making his final push.

 "With about 500 metres left, I saw he was four metres behind me and I said, 'It's finished. Goodbye,"' Vuckovic said.

 Whitfield was wearing a new one-piece suit that exposed most of his chest to the air. When he first got it the previous night, Shepley said, it was so tight Whitfield could hardly fit into it.

 Triathlon Results
 SYDNEY (AP) -- Results Sunday from the triathlon event at the Summer Olympics
 Men
 1, Simon Whitfield, Canada, 1:48:24.02.
 2, Stephan Vuckovic, Germany, 1:48:37.58.
 3, Jan Rehula, Czech Republic, 1:48:46.64.
 4, Dmitriy Gaag, Kazakstan, 1:49:03.57.
 5, Ivan Rana, Spain, 1:49:10.88.
 6, Miles Stewart, Australia, 1:49:14.52.
 7, Olivier Marceau, France, 1:49:18.03.
 8, Reto Hug, Switzerland, 1:49:21.30.
 9, Simon Lessing, Britain, 1:49:24.32.
 10, Timothy Don, Britain, 1:49:28.85.
 11, Andriy Glushchenko, Ukraine, 1:49:30.17.
 12, Andreas Raelert, Germany, 1:49:31.28.
 13, Martin Krnavek, Czech Republic, 1:49:38.01.
 14, Leandro Macedo, Brazil, 1:49:50.69.
 15, Volodymyr Polikarpenko, Ukraine, 1:49:51.78.
 16, Craig Watson, New Zealand, 1:50:01.85.
 17, Hunter Kemper, Longwood, Fla., 1:50:05.56.
 18, Markus Keller, Switzerland, 1:50:15.25.
 19, Carl Blasco, France, 1:50:18.02.
 20, Conrad Stoltz, South Africa, 1:50:24.39.
 21, Takumi Obara, Japan, 1:50:29.95.
 22, Juraci Moreira, Brazil, 1:50:44.79.
 23, Eneko Llanos, Spain, 1:50:48.35.
 24, Jean-Christophe Guinchard, Switzerland, 1:50:50.76.
 25, Ryan Bolton, Gillette, Wyo., 1:50:52.95.
 26, Hamish Carter, New Zealand, 1:50:57.17.
 27, Craig Walton, Australia, 1:50:57.66.
 28, Oscar Galindez, Argentina, 1:50:59.48.
 29, Johannes Enzenhofer, Austria, 1:51:02.48.
 30, Csaba Kuttor, Hungary, 1:51:05.74.
 31, Stephan Bignet, France, 1:51:12.15.
 32, Alessandro Bottoni, Italy, 1:51:18.13.
 33, Vasileios Krommydas, Greece, 1:51:28.94.
 34, Peter Robertson, Australia, 1:51:39.04.
 35, Joachim Willen, Sweden, 1:51:40.80.
 36, Hideo Fukui, Japan, 1:52:04.79.
 37, Gilberto Gonzalez, Venezuela, 1:52:13.03.
 38, Ben Bright, New Zealand, 1:52:17.26.
 39, Armando Barcellos, Brazil, 1:53:42.63.
 40, Nick Radkewich, Hudson, Ohio, 1:53:44.63.
 41, Matias Brain, Chile, 1:53:44.90.
 42, Eric van der Linden, Netherlands, 1:54:32.04.
 43, Rob Barel, Netherlands, 1:55:36.69.
 44, Jan Knobelauch Hansen, Denmark, 1:55:42.06.
 45, Roland Melis, Netherlands Antilles, 1:56:11.95.
 46, Hiroyuki Nishiuchi, Japan, 1:56:59.76.
 47, Mikhail Kuznetsov, Kazakstan, 1:59:13.50.
 48, Dennis Looze, Netherlands, 2h00:23.80.
 NR, Andrew Johns, Britain, DNF.
 NR, Jose Maria Merchan, Spain, DNF.
 NR, Filip Ospaly, Czech Republic, DNF.
 NR, Mark Marabini, Zimbabwe, DNF.