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in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, M ay 17 ,2 01 8 | 62626 SPORTS Visit insidehalton.com for more coverage Retirement usually signals an opportunity to do all those things you never got a chance to do. That's no different for Kyle Jones, but after a 15-year interna- tional triathlon career, his idea of what that means is. "So many people retire and then they want to travel," Jones said. "I'm retiring and I just want to stay home." Jones last raced two years ago in Yokohama, Japan. He intend- ed on that being his last season but not his last race. He contin- ued to train to leave the door open. Five months ago, he and wife Kelly welcomed a second son, Max, to the family and the thought of leaving them for weeks at a time to compete be- came harder. "My approach was always all- in," Jones said. "It's very hard to train and have a family. You can do it and I managed to, but (four- year-old son) Zack is starting school and sports on the week- ends and I wanted to be involved in that." After a year away from triath- lon, Jones realized he missed the sport, but he's found a new ave- nue to remain involved. Jones is teaming up with a for- mer high school running rival, Jeff Scull of Edge Triathlon in St. Catharines, to help the next gen- eration pursue their goals. Based on his experience, Jones believes he can help athletes as much with the mental side of the sport as he can with the technical as- pects. "There are a lot of ups and downs. You certainly want to cel- ebrate the successes and the re- wards, but also let them know, it's really hard, and help them push through those times when things don't go your way because those tough times ultimately makes those high moments even better." Jones has plenty of experi- ence with both ends of that spec- trum. He won three national championships, won six interna- tional races had 14 podium fin- ishes and realized his dream of racing in the Olympics in 2012. But his triathlon career didn't always go the way he expected. There were bike crashes and bro- ken bones. There were heat-seek- ing traffic-cone missiles and sur- geries where parts of his body were borrowed to make other parts work better. And there was the sting of being left off the 2016 Olympic team. Doug Jones kick-started his sons Olympic dream, though maybe not in the way anyone ex- pected. Kyle was too young to ap- preciate his dad coaching the Ca- nadian canoe team at the 1988 Olympics. When his dad started compet- ing at weekend triathlons, Kyle tagged along and was soon rac- ing. He would ride his mountain bike while other competitors would have proper road bikes. Once they started running, it was Jones who had the advantage. "I would be passing people like crazy, but I'd still finish third or fourth," he said. fourth," he said. f Jones began focusing solely on triathlon when he was 15. A year later he watched Canada's Simon Whitfield win the first-ev- er Olympic triathlon. "It just happened to coincide with me taking the sport more se- riously and realizing the possi- bilities," said Jones, who within three years would be the Canadi- an junior champion. One of a group of young triath- letes invited to train with Whit- field in 2004, Jones admits being afield in 2004, Jones admits being af little star struck. At the end of the two-week training camp, Whit- field asked Jones if he wanted tofield asked Jones if he wanted tof continue to train with him. "It ignited a dream of mine. I could make this a reality," he said. "The defending Olympic champion asking me to train Jones transitions to next stage of triathlon career Kyle Jones waves to the crowd prior to the Pan Am Games triathlon in Toronto. Jones retired last week after a career that saw him represent Canada at the 2012 Olympics, win three national titles and win six international races. Graham Paine / Metroland Olympian retires after career that included 6 international victories HERB GARBUTT hgarbutt@metroland.com l See JONES, page 63