Bailey's
Last Race to be Painful
Edmonton 2001 news team
2 August 2001 - Edmonton - Despite a
serious tear of the cartilage in his left knee, 1996 Olympic 100m champion
Donovan Bailey will line up against the world's fastest men on Saturday morning
in what is sure to be his last competition.
Bailey, one of only three 100m men to hold the world record and win both the
world championships and the Olympics, has planned this day for two years. Sadly,
it's unlikely to be the dramatic farewell he once dreamed of.
A medical team has assembled in Edmonton to help the 33 year old in his final
hour even though doctors who read the Magnetic Resonance Image strongly advised
him not to compete in case of much more serious damage. Loathe to take
conventional pain killers he admits one of his medical staff is bringing him the
homeopathic variety.
"This definitely puts me way behind the eight ball because I can't really make
any mistakes, I can't overstride," he revealed, "But I have the best people
looking after me, definitely."
All this week the sprinter has been training as well as taking physiotherapy.
The few interviews he did upon arrival in Edmonton were not favourable and the
man many love to hate has now decided to turn down further interview requests
until after the 100m. Beneath the façade of desperation beats the heart of a
tremendous competitor and he must hope that he can pull out one more sublime
effort before the Canadian public.
Bailey reacted with anger at speculation from within the Canadian media, that he
has created the injury as an excuse in case his performance is not good enough
to advance beyond Saturday's first round and quarter-finals.
"I have nothing to prove. Last year in Sydney I had absolutely no control over
how I felt when I went down the track so for me I am just getting out there and
running," he said, " The only reason I came back is the World's are in Canada.
That's the only reason. And the public saying it's an attempt to sway what's
going on shows exactly what we as Canadians think of ourselves and I am sorry, I
am not a part of that."
"Maybe what I should do is show up with the MRI x-ray pictures and then have
them get a radiologist to read them if that is what is going to satisfy them. I
mean, give me a break!"
Bailey has been training at the University of Texas, in the state capital of
Austin, with coach Dan Pfaff a consistent optimist. Pfaff has told the sprinter
that if he runs with proper technique he will be fine. Among those in the
training camp have been Olympic bronze medalist Obadale Thompson and Bailey's
fellow Canadian, Bruny Surin.
The treatment the two Canadians have received at home recently is comparable.
Surin was paid handsomely to be the "ambassador" of the Jeux de Francophonie in
Hull, Quebec but was besieged by the media after he left the event before the
closing ceremonies. Headlines read "Bolting Bruny" and worse. The hasty
departure was because he sought help with his technique from Pfaff but Quebecers
didn't see it that way.
"At the Pan American Games I was ridiculed because I didn't carry the flag," a
sympathetic Bailey revealed. "And when Bruny (Surin) came to Austin, Texas I
just laughed and said 'Now you know exactly how it feels.' But I think all of
the foreign journalists are wondering what the hell is going on. I mean
Canadians are on a whole.....this is the real body of world track and field and
I excelled at the top. No one in Canada understands."
Over the years Bailey has amassed a small fortune thanks to large appearance
fees on the European circuit but he has had few endorsement opportunities at
home. This is largely due to his personality. Donovan Bailey doesn't march to
anyone else's beat. This has caused him trouble and he understands his best
post-competition financial opportunities will come from abroad. Still he has a
penchance for helping young sprinters.
"I'd like to stay in the sport. I think there's a lot of talent here but I talk
to a few of these guys and they are disappointed and distraught with how things
are and the way success is treated," he explains. "If you are fifth in the
Olympics you are a hero in Canada. If you do something like I did that hasn't
been done since 1968 well you're good that day but then the next day what
happens?
"I know I competed with dignity. I competed clean. I know I brought absolutely
nothing but good things to the sport of track. I am not at all worried."
