Simon Whitfield, Lennox Lewis honoured with London Underground stops on Facelift map

There are still months to go before the London Olympics this summer, but Canadian athletes have already made an impact on a crucial part of the city: its subway stops. As part of the preparations for the Olympics, Transport For London has come out with an alternative "Olympic Legends Map" designed by sports journalists Alex Trickett and David Brooks that renames each Underground station after a noted Olympic athlete, and two men who won Olympic gold for Canada are amongst the athletes so honoured: Simon Whitfield, who earned gold in the triathlon at the 2000 Games in Sydney , and Lennox Lewis, who won a boxing gold in 1988. It's a pretty cool honour, and these are two athletes who are quite worthy of recognition.

Whitfield, from Kingston, Ontario, will be familiar to many Canadians, of course, as his triathlon victory in 2000 (the first time it was an Olympic event) was one of the most memorable moments for the red-and-white squad in Sydney. What was particularly impressive there was how he recovered from a crash in the biking section of the race and went on to win. His career has had many more highlights beyond that, though, and the silver he picked up in the 2008 Beijing Olympics at 33 may have been even more impressive. Whitfield has also won gold at the Commonwealth Games and has claimed 10 consecutive Canadian triathlon championships. He also still holds the record for the fastest triathlon time recorded in an Olympics, although it's an unofficial record given the different courses involved. His name's being used for Bank Station.

Lewis may not be remembered as fondly by some red-and-white partisans, as he infamously declared himself British during his professional career. He does have strong Canadian connections, though. Lewis was born in London and spent his early years there, but he moved to Kitchener, Ontario with his parents at the age of 12. He played plenty of sports in high school, including football, soccer and basketball, but eventually decided to focus on boxing and competed for Canada at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, losing to eventual gold-medalist Tyrell Biggs in the quarterfinals. Lewis decided to stay as an amateur after the loss and went on to shine in the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, where he won the gold medal by technical knockout of future world champion Riddick Bowe. That remains Canada's most recent Olympic boxing gold. Lewis' impressive professional career, which included becoming the most recent undisputed heavyweight champion and suffering only two losses (both of which he avenged), may have come under the Union Jack, but red-and-white fans can still be proud of his Canadian connection and what he accomplished in the Olympics. He's a member of both Canada's Sports Hall of Fame and the International Boxing Hall of Fame. His name's being used for Poplar Station.

Some thoughts on some of the other notable athletes honoured on the map, which is largely divided by sports (full version viewable here):

—American swimmer Michael Phelps, who won a record eight gold medals in the 2008 Beijing Games, has been recognized with the main Olympic venue stop (Stratford).

—The nearby Stratford International Station is named "Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali)". Using the Clay name first is perhaps somewhat controversial given his later name change, but Clay was the name Ali won his 1960 Olympic gold under.

—British runners Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams of Chariots of Fire fame have been given stations near each other (West Brompton and Mansion House).

—The southern end of the Northern Line, which runs out to South Wimbledon, has had its stops named after notable tennis players, including Boris Becker, Steffi Graf, Andre Agassi and the Williams sisters.

—Jim Thorpe, perhaps the greatest all-around athlete ever (but one whose Olympic history is controversial), has been given the Hammersmith stop.

—Olympic track star turned Dallas Cowboys receiver "Bullet" Bob Hayes has received the Farringdon station.

—The northernmost portion of the Northern Line has four famous female basketball players at the top: Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie, Teresa Edwards and Cheryl Miller. Before that, several men's players are honoured, including Bill Russell, Dwyane Wade, Oscar Robertson and Arvydas Sabonis.

—Another branch of the Northern Line features the 1992 Dream Team. So yes, Christian Laettner has a stop.

—The Overground line has plenty of notable volleyball players, including the feared doubles team of Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh, as well as men's star Karch Kiraly.

—The Bakerloo line has some impressive women's soccer players, including Abby Wambach, Mia Hamm, Marta, Brandi Chastain and Briana Scurry. However, Olympic soccer probably isn't what's most associated with the men there, including Lionel Messi, Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez.

—LeBron James and Kobe Bryant have stops next to each other. That's not awkward at all.

—One of the top female athletes ever, Babe Didrikson (later Babe Didrikson Zaharias), has received the Great Portland Street stop.

—Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are appropriately next to each other on the Northern Line.

—A particularly cool stretch of the Circle Line includes Tommie Smith, Jesse Owens and Carl Lewis.

For more information on the new map, go here.