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Great sprinter bows out
Nick
Davies for IAAF
5 August 2001 - For a fleeting moment yesterday, it looked as if Donovan Bailey, the sprinter Canada never took to its heart, might have earned another chance to show them he deserved at least their respect. With many cynics doubting he could make it through the first round, because of his knee problems, Bailey’s qualification from the quarter finals, and especially the smooth way he ran 10.11 – his fastest of the season, was little short of amazing.
But in fact, it was typical Bailey. He is a man who loves to surprise. Six years ago at the World Championships in Gothenburg, all eyes were on the reigning world champion Linford Christie and the likes of Frankie Fredericks and and emerging Ato Boldon. Yet it was 27 year-old Bailey who emerged from obscurity to snatch victory – improving his personal best to 9.97. At that time Bailey was best known as a key link of a fast improving Canadian relay team, who took advantage of a US foul-up to win the world title in Sweden, but he was certainly no stand-out. But at least he proved to Canadians that they could finally forget about the nightmare of Ben Johnson, who broke their hearts after winning Olympic gold in 1988.
It was not until 1996 though - another Olympic year - that Bailey really earned himself a place in athletics folklore. But before the Games in Atlanta it was a rampant Frank Fredericks who seemed to be set for an historic Olympic sprint double. The Namibian finished three metres ahead of Bailey in Helsinki with 9.87 – and then improved that time to 9.86 in Lausanne - into a slight headwind. After also handing Michael Johnson a very rare defeat at 200m in Oslo, the in-form Fredericks was the clear favourite in Atlanta. But Bailey took advantage of that, avoiding the pressure and remaining calm and focused even during the extraordinary scenes that followed the disqualification of Christie for two false starts. With an explosive mid-race surge that took him past Boldon and Fredericks, Bailey became the new Olympic champion – and set a new world record of 9.84. After then adding insult to injury to the USA by anchoring his Canadian team to victory in the 4x100m, it seemed as if Bailey’s star had truly risen. A poor starter, he had awesome power once those long legs uncoiled and above all, he had great nerves and a very strong mind.
A few months later, in the Toronto Sky Dome, in a fantastically hyped head-to-head, Bailey famously defeated Michael Johnson over 150 metres to win a cool $1.5 million. But it was this race that came to define Bailey’s relationship with the Canadian public. Frankly, they didn’t appreciate his snarling reaction to Michael Johnson’s injury, and his inference that the 200m world record holder was faking it. From then on, Bailey, struggled to win hearts. Intelligent and hardworking, but also blunt and demanding, he was not willing to change his personality to suit Canada’s desire for a family hero.
And less than a year later, the story was virtually over. Coming into the 1997 World Championships weakened by injury, he lost his crown to Maurice Greene. Then in September 1998, warming up for a basketball game, he completely ruptured his left Achilles tendon. It was such a serious injury that he required immediate surgery and few people expected him to see him on a track again. But after surgery and extensive rehabilitation he came back – running 10.06 last year in Lausanne – but got sick before the Olympics and limped out in the quarter-finals.
This summer, aged 33, he won five low key races in Europe, and the Canadian Championships, to set himself up for a final hurrah. Alas, the dream was not to be: Joking on his web site that his body must have been dipped into the waters at Lourdes for him to have been allowed to run 10.11 yesterday, today his body gave up the ghost, screeching off the rails in the semi-finals: "That's it," said Bailey, after he completed a tearful lap to salute the crowd: “No more races, no more relays. I’ve always worked hard and tried to do my best for myself and my country. I think that the decision I made after injury and illness to return was one of my greatest. I really wanted to finish my career in Edmonton regardless of what happened. As a competitor I obviously wanted to win the gold medal but as a man I just wanted to end it in front of my compatriots and end the process that started in 1995 when I won the world title. I wanted to restore dignity and respect to Canadian athletics and now that crusade is finished and I can hand over the baton to someone else.”
Prickly sometimes, maybe hard to please, but there’s no doubt that Bailey’s brief tenure as world’s fastest man helped sell a sport that has traditionally struggled in Canada. And you only have to watch a tape of the 1996 Olympic 100m final to appreciate what a superb sprinter he was at his peak. Enjoy your retirement Donovan.
