Simon Lessing
  Simon Lessing
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 at Ironman USA in Lake Placid, 2004
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| Personal information | |
| Date of birth | 12th February 1971 (age 49) |
| place of birth | Cape Town, South Africa |
| size | 192 cm |
| Weight | 78 kg |
| societies | |
| successes | |
| 1991-1994 | 3 × ETU European champion triathlon short distance |
| 1992-1998 | 4 × ITU world champion triathlon short distance |
| 1995 | ITU world champion triathlon long distance |
| 2000 | 9th place Olympic Games |
| 2004 | Ironman winner |
| status | |
| Resigned in 2008 | |
Simon Christopher Lessing (born February 12, 1971 in Cape Town ) is a former British triathlete of South African origin. He is three-time European triathlon champion (1991, 1993, 1994) and five-time triathlon world champion (short distance: 1992, 1995, 1996, 1998; long distance: 1995) and Ironman winner (2004).
Career
Simon Lessing was born in South Africa and when he was nine years old his family moved to Durban . Even as a child and teenager Lessing was a successful swimmer, sailor and biathlete and at the age of 14 he started a triathlon for the first time.
In 1988 he became triathlon champion in South Africa. Simon Lessing left South Africa in 1989 at the age of 18 and started as a professional triathlete in Great Britain. At his first start in the long distance triathlon, Lessing achieved second place behind the nine-time winner and defending champion Mark Allen in 1993 in Nice .
2000 Summer Olympics
At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, he finished ninth and he switched from the short distance (1.5 km swimming, 40 km cycling and 10 km running) to the medium and long distance. In 2002 he moved to Boulder , Colorado with his wife Lisa . In 2004 he won the Ironman in Lake Placid.
In 2008 Simon Lessing ended his professional career. Today he runs a coaching agency for triathletes with his wife and long-distance runner Colleen De Reuck . For example, he trained the world and European champion on the Ironman distance Chrissie Wellington (resigned in 2012) as well as the long distance world champion and multiple Ironman winner Mary Beth Ellis .
Awards
- Simon Lessing was inducted into the Hall of Fame by the International Triathlon Union (ITU) in 2014 in recognition of his athletic achievements .
Sporting successes
| Date / year | rank | competition | venue | time | comment |
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| Sep 9 2007 | 5 | Los Angeles Triathlon |
 los Angeles
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01:55:37 | |
| 2003 | 1 | Pacific Coast International Triathlon Union Race |
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| June 6, 2004 | 1 | Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon |
San Francisco
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01:54:41 | |
| 2003 | 1 | Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon |
San Francisco |
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| 2001 | 3 | Alpine triathlon |
 Schliersee
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| 2000 | 9 | 2000 Summer Olympics |
 Sydney
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Triathlon celebrated its Olympic premiere at the Olympic Games (1.5 km swimming, 40 km cycling and 10 km running) | |
| Sep 11 1999 | 2 | ITU Triathlon World Championships |
 Montreal
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01:45:31 | |
| Aug 30, 1998 | 1 | ITU Triathlon World Championships |
 Lausanne
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01:55:30 | |
| 1997 | 3 | ITU Triathlon World Championships |
Perth
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01:49:07 | |
| Aug 24, 1996 | 1 | ITU Triathlon World Championships |
Cleveland
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01:39:50 | |
| 1996 | 1 | Laguna Phuket Triathlon |
 Phuket
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01:52:50 | |
| Nov 12, 1995 | 1 | ITU Triathlon World Championships |
 Cancun
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01:48:28 | |
| 1995 | 1 | Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon |
San Francisco |
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| 1994 | 1 | ETU Triathlon European Championships |
Eichstatt
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01:50:38 | Victory at the European Championship |
| 4th July 1993 | 1 | ETU Triathlon European Championships |
 Echternach
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01:54:04 | European champion on the Olympic distance |
| Aug 1993 | 2 | ITU Triathlon World Championships |
Manchester
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01:53:02 | |
| Sep 12 1992 | 1 | ITU Triathlon World Championships |
Huntsville
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01:49:04 | |
| Aug 15, 1992 | 1 | ITU Triathlon World Cup |
 Embrun
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02:16:56 | Winner on the short distance at the Embrunman |
| 1992 | 2 | ETU Triathlon European Championships |
 Lommel
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01:49:05 | |
| 1991 | 1 | ETU Triathlon European Championships |
Geneva
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01:53:25 | Winner at the ETU European Championship |
| Date / year | rank | competition | venue | time | comment |
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| May 4, 2008 | 9 | Ironman 70.3 St. Croix |
Christiansted
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04:19:31 | |
| 2008 | 4th | Ironman 70.3 Muskoka |
Muskoka
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04:19:17 | |
| 23 Sep 2007 | 4th | Ironman 70.3 Cancun |
Cancun
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03:53:31 | |
| Aug 19, 2007 | 1 | Ironman 70.3 Timberman |
New Hampshire
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04:00:02 | |
| May 20, 2007 | 2 | Ironman 70.3 Florida |
Orlando
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| Nov 11, 2006 | 2 | Ironman 70.3 World Championships |
Clearwater
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| 17 Sep 2006 | 1 | Ironman 70.3 Cancun |
Cancun |
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| July 30, 2006 | 1 | Vineman Ironman 70.3 |
Sonoma County
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| June 25, 2006 | 2 | Ironman 70.3 Buffalo Springs |
Lubbock
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| May 22, 2005 | 2 | Ironman 70.3 Florida |
Orlando |
03:53:47 | |
| May 1, 2005 | 1 | Wildflower triathlon |
Lake San Antonio |
03:59:33 | Victory and new course record over the middle distance (1.9 km swimming, 90 km cycling, 21 km running) in California |
| Date / year | rank | competition | venue | time | comment |
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| Aug 28, 2005 | 4th | Ironman Canada |
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08:43:13 | |
| July 25, 2004 | 1 | Ironman USA |
Lake Placid
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08:23:12 | |
| Oct. 1, 1995 | 1 | ITU Long Distance Triathlon World Championships |
Nice
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05:46:17 | Winner of the Triathlon International de Nice |
| June 13, 1993 | 2 | Triathlon International de Nice |
Nice
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06:10:55 | At his first start in the long-distance triathlon, Lessing came second behind the nine-time winner and defending champion Mark Allen . |
(DNF - Did Not Finish )
Web links
- "Boulder Coaching" website (Simon Lessing, Lisa Lessing, Colleen De Reuck and Darren De Reuck)
- Simon Lessing in the Munzinger archive ( beginning of article freely accessible)
- Profile for Simon Lessing at the Institute for Applied Training Science , accessed on May 13, 2014
- Profile and results of Simon Lessing in the ITU database at Triathlon.org , accessed on September 24, 2018 (English).
- Simon Lessing in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )
Individual evidence
- ↑ Train with the Triathlon Champ (Boulder Coaching)
- ↑ Simon Lessing: Reflections on life after a brilliant career (October 3, 2008)
- ^ ITU Hall of Fame
- ^ Bennett and Snowsill win the 2007 LA Triathlon
- ^ Lessing Pulls Away in Run
- ↑ Gaylia Osterlund recaps the day of racing at Timberman 70.3
- ↑ Wildflower Triathlon: Old Master Lessing wins with a course record
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Lessing, Simon |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Lessing, Simon Christopher |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British triathlete |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 12, 1971 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Cape Town |