Simon Lessing

Triathlon Olympian and World Champion

Born in Cape Town, where he learned to swim, his family moved to Durban when he was 9. Growing up, surfing and rugby were two of the major sports in Durban, but Lessing resisted the pressure to make the change to these activities. He trained an average of 3 hours a day in his areas of interest: sailing, swimming, track, cross-country, and duathlon. He developed an interest in hiking and hiked in the Drakensberg. Lessing completed school at Kloof High School, where his swim coach was Dave McCarney. He was a student at the University of Natal, and in 1987 he finished second in the Midmar Mile.

McCarney encouraged Lessing to try a family-oriented race he organized at Kloof High School. In 1988, Lessing was the South African triathlon champion, winning his Springbok colours in 1989 when he was selected to compete against Americans Emilio de Soto and Rob Bistodeau in South Africa. However, he broke his leg in another triathlon and never did compete in Springbok colours.

Simon completed High School in November 1988 and was due to his National Service, but as a long-time supporter of the End Conscription Campaign made an easy decision to leave South Africa and try to fulfill his athletic dreams in Europe. Simon explains, “As an 18 year old it was a huge eye opener as I had never left isolated South Africa before. It was also an opportunity because, at the time, South Africa was banned from competing in international sport, and moving to England gave me the chance to pursue an international sporting career under the British Flag."

Simon's mother was born in England and that entitled him to dual citizenship from an early age. He moved to Europe, where he was part of the South African group in France, coached by Andrew Dean. He won five International Triathlon Union (ITU) world titles (1992, 1995(2), 1996, and 1998), and he set an Olympic-distance world record in 1996.