TORONTO - Simon Whitfield may not be getting any younger but, as the veteran triathlete prepares for his fourth Olympics, he's swimming, biking and running more than ever.
Some 12 years after winning Olympic triathlon gold in Sydney, the 36-year-old Whitfield says he has changed his training regimen, not because he's getting older but because everybody else is getting better.
"I've had to adapt," he said Wednesday in Toronto. "The level keeps getting higher. I train 25 per cent more than I ever trained before."
Whitfield calls it a ''risk,'' one he's willing to take to put himself in medal contention at this summer's London Olympics.
"I know what level I was at, I know how to come 12th," said Whitfield, a native of Kingston, Ont., who lives and trains in Victoria. "In the last three years, that's kind of where I'd figure I'd be. So I'm taking a risk to push forward to get those medals."
He's already been to the Olympic podium twice. After winning in 2000, he finished a disappointing 11th four years later in Athens. Then in 2008, amid some questions about whether he could be a factor, Whitfield answered his critics with a gutsy silver-medal performance.
Whitfield, who has already punched his ticket to London as one of Triathlon Canada's discretionary picks, will be one of the older athletes on the Olympic course. But he's shown he can perform when the biggest prizes are on the line. And a recent training stint in New Zealand has given him the confidence to know he can also still keep up with the kids.
In January, Whitfield spent three weeks training with members of the New Zealand national team, going head-to-head with much younger athletes every day. He was always among the last men standing, which made him realize he still is still capable of carrying a heavy workload.
"That's what I needed," Whitfield said at an event to promote this summer's Toronto Triathlon Festival. "I needed to be able to stand back and see 21-year-olds and 22-year-olds falling down."
While Whitfield is the first to make jokes about his age, he also admits that self-doubt can creep in.
"Sometimes in the back of your mind you start to believe 'Maybe I can't do as much as I used to,'" he said.
Whitfield was so inspired by his time in New Zealand, he's going back in early March for a five-week training stint.
The facilities — located at the end of a 13-kilometre gravel road at 1,500 metres above sea level — are "simplistic," Whitfield says. That means there are no distractions and the focus is on the training.
"The Kiwi boys have no fear, these young guys," Whitfield said. "Just being around that, a new environment, it was invigorating. I came home smiling ear-to-ear."
After New Zealand, Whitfield plans to race the World Triathlon Series event in Sydney in mid-April before heading back to Canada. He'll run another World Triathlon Series event in San Diego in May before hunkering down to train in Victoria.
Sticking close to home is a strategy Whitfield has used in previous Olympic years. Not only does it mean he's close to his wife Jennie and two young daughters Pippa and Evelyn, it also allows him to keep his preparation focused and simple.
Whitfield's final race will be at the Toronto Triathlon Festival on July 22, less than week before the opening ceremony in London. He will take part in the shorter sprint distance as opposed to the 1,500-metre swim, 40-kilometre bike and 10-kilometre run he will race Aug. 7 in London. The Toronto event will be more of a training race than a serious competition.
"It's just another workout," said Whitfield.
The new event, which was officially launched Wednesday, will be run through downtown Toronto. Athletes will swim in Lake Ontario, bike on two major highways that run through the city and run along Toronto's lakeshore. It's not an official International Triathlon Union event at this point but organizers say it will be no later than 2014 when it will be a test event for the 2015 Pan American Games.
"The Olympic year is about keeping the things we can control as low key as possible," said Whitfield. "This is a great opportunity for that.
"Just to be in Toronto, I find it much more relaxing. It gets you in a great head space for an Olympic campaign."
While he'll be 40 when Toronto hosts the Pan Am Games, Whitfield isn't ruling out hanging around long enough to compete on home soil. He hasn't ruled out the 2016 Rio Olympics, either.
"I'm competitive so I try and forget that I'm getting older," he said. "I just like racing."
© The Canadian Press, 2012