Donovan Bailey
Encyclopedia
Donovan Bailey is a retired Canadian
sprinter, who once held the world record for the 100 metres
race following his gold medal
performance in the 1996 Olympic Games. He was the first Canadian to legally break the 10-second barrier
in the 100 m. Particularly noted for his top speed, Bailey ran 27.07 mph (12.1 m/s) in his 1996 Olympic title run, the fastest ever recorded.
in 1967, Bailey emigrated to Canada at age 13, and played basketball
before his graduation at Queen Elizabeth Park High School in Oakville, Ontario
. He began competing as a 100 m sprinter part-time in 1991, but he did not take up the sport seriously until 1994. At that time, he was also a stockbroker. He was coached by Loren Seagrave.
, Sweden
, Bailey won both the 100 m sprint and the 4 x 100 m relay
titles.
As a precursor to the centennial Olympics being held in Atlanta, Bailey broke the indoor 50 m world record during a competition in Reno, Nevada
in 1996. He was timed at 5.56A seconds. Maurice Greene
matched that performance in 1999, but his run was never ratified as a world record. Bailey repeated the "double" at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics
, setting a world record of 9.84s +0.7 m/s wind in the 100 m (the previous record was set in July 1994 by American Leroy Burrell
at 9.85 seconds). Many Canadians felt his victory restored the image of Canadian athletes, which had been tarnished by Ben Johnson
's previous disqualified win at the 1988 Summer Olympics
in Seoul
. Bailey was the second person to hold all the major titles in the 100 m concurrently (World Champion, Olympic Champion & World Record Holder); Carl Lewis
was the first to achieve this feat.
Bailey won a third world title in 1997 with the Canadian relay team, while finishing second in the 100 m behind Maurice Greene.
After the 1997 season Bailey ruptured his Achilles tendon
during the post season 98, effectively ending his career. He made a second attempt in the 2000 Summer Olympics
for Olympic glory, but suffered from pneumonia
and dropped out during the rounds. He retired from the sport in 2001, having been a three-time World and the 2 time Olympic champion.
Bailey's time of 9.84 in Atlanta was the 100 m world record from 1996 until 1999, when it was broken by Greene. The time also stood as the Commonwealth record from 1996 until 2005, when it was broken by Asafa Powell
, and is the current Canadian record (shared with Bruny Surin
since 1999). His Olympic record was broken by Usain Bolt
at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
in a 150 m race at Toronto's SkyDome in a bid to truly determine who the world's fastest man was. Earlier in the spring of 1997 Johnson began performing television promotions in which he billed himself as "the world's fastest man" as a result of his 200 meters
world record, despite the fact that the 100 m world record holders are traditionally given that unofficial title. Bailey initially refused to take part, stating that "the world's fastest man was decided in Atlanta."
Bailey won $1.5 million for winning the race in which Johnson, who was well behind Bailey, pulled up around the 110 m mark, with an injured quadricep muscle.
He has been inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
twice: in 2004 as an individual, and in 2008 as part of the 1996 Summer Olympics 4x100 relay team.
In August 2008 Bailey worked as a track commentator for CBC Television
at the 2008 Summer Olympics
. He estimated that had Usain Bolt
not slowed down near the end of the 100m dash (which he still won in record time), he could have set a time of 9.55 seconds.
, is a television actress currently starring in the Canadian television sitcom Little Mosque on the Prairie
.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
sprinter, who once held the world record for the 100 metres
100 metres
The 100 metres, or 100-metre dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, it is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896...
race following his gold medal
Gold medal
A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...
performance in the 1996 Olympic Games. He was the first Canadian to legally break the 10-second barrier
10-second barrier
The 10-second barrier is a term used in track and field athletics which refers to the physical and psychological barrier of completing the men's 100 metres sprint in under ten seconds...
in the 100 m. Particularly noted for his top speed, Bailey ran 27.07 mph (12.1 m/s) in his 1996 Olympic title run, the fastest ever recorded.
Early life
Born in Manchester, JamaicaJamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
in 1967, Bailey emigrated to Canada at age 13, and played basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
before his graduation at Queen Elizabeth Park High School in Oakville, Ontario
Oakville, Ontario
Oakville is a town in Halton Region, on Lake Ontario in Southern Ontario, Canada, and is part of the Greater Toronto Area. As of the 2006 census the population was 165,613.-History:In 1793, Dundas Street was surveyed for a military road...
. He began competing as a 100 m sprinter part-time in 1991, but he did not take up the sport seriously until 1994. At that time, he was also a stockbroker. He was coached by Loren Seagrave.
Career
At the 1995 world Track & Field Championships in GothenburgGothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Bailey won both the 100 m sprint and the 4 x 100 m relay
4 x 100 metres relay
The 4 × 100 metres relay or sprint relay is an athletics track event run in lanes over one lap of the track with four runners completing 100 metres each. The first runners begin in the same stagger as for the individual 400 m race...
titles.
As a precursor to the centennial Olympics being held in Atlanta, Bailey broke the indoor 50 m world record during a competition in Reno, Nevada
Reno, Nevada
Reno is the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The city has a population of about 220,500 and is the most populous Nevada city outside of the Las Vegas metropolitan area...
in 1996. He was timed at 5.56A seconds. Maurice Greene
Maurice Greene (athlete)
Maurice Greene is a retired American track and field sprinter who specialized in the 100 meters and 200 meters. He is a former 100 m world record holder with a time of 9.79 seconds. During the height of his career he won four Olympic medals and was a five-time World Champion...
matched that performance in 1999, but his run was never ratified as a world record. Bailey repeated the "double" at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....
, setting a world record of 9.84s +0.7 m/s wind in the 100 m (the previous record was set in July 1994 by American Leroy Burrell
Leroy Burrell
Leroy Russel Burrell is a former American athlete who twice set the world record for the 100 meters sprint, setting a time of 9.90 seconds in June 1991. This was broken by Carl Lewis in September at the World Track and Field Championships. In that race, Burrell came in second, yet he...
at 9.85 seconds). Many Canadians felt his victory restored the image of Canadian athletes, which had been tarnished by Ben Johnson
Ben Johnson (athlete)
Benjamin Sinclair "Ben" Johnson, CM , is a former sprinter from Canada, who enjoyed a high-profile career during most of the 1980s, winning two Olympic bronze medals and an Olympic gold, which was subsequently rescinded...
's previous disqualified win at the 1988 Summer Olympics
1988 Summer Olympics
The 1988 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad, were an all international multi-sport events celebrated from September 17 to October 2, 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. They were the second summer Olympic Games to be held in Asia and the first since the 1964 Summer Olympics...
in Seoul
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
. Bailey was the second person to hold all the major titles in the 100 m concurrently (World Champion, Olympic Champion & World Record Holder); Carl Lewis
Carl Lewis
Frederick Carlton "Carl" Lewis is an American former track and field athlete, who won 10 Olympic medals including 9 gold, and 10 World Championships medals, of which 8 were gold. His career spanned from 1979 when he first achieved a world ranking to 1996 when he last won an Olympic title and...
was the first to achieve this feat.
Bailey won a third world title in 1997 with the Canadian relay team, while finishing second in the 100 m behind Maurice Greene.
After the 1997 season Bailey ruptured his Achilles tendon
Achilles tendon
The Achilles tendon , also known as the calcaneal tendon or the tendo calcaneus, is a tendon of the posterior leg. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius and soleus muscles to the calcaneus bone.- Anatomy :The Achilles is the tendonous extension of 3 muscles in the lower leg:...
during the post season 98, effectively ending his career. He made a second attempt in the 2000 Summer Olympics
2000 Summer Olympics
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
for Olympic glory, but suffered from pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
and dropped out during the rounds. He retired from the sport in 2001, having been a three-time World and the 2 time Olympic champion.
Bailey's time of 9.84 in Atlanta was the 100 m world record from 1996 until 1999, when it was broken by Greene. The time also stood as the Commonwealth record from 1996 until 2005, when it was broken by Asafa Powell
Asafa Powell
Asafa Powell C.D is a Jamaican sprinter who specialises in the 100 metres. He held the 100 m world record between June 2005 and May 2008, with times of 9.77 and 9.74 seconds respectively. Powell has consistently broken the 10-second barrier in competition, with his personal best of...
, and is the current Canadian record (shared with Bruny Surin
Bruny Surin
Bruny Surin is a Canadian athlete, winner of a gold medal in the 4x100 m relay at the 1996 Summer Olympics. In 2008 he was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame as part of the 1996 Summer Olympics 4x100 relay team.-Career:...
since 1999). His Olympic record was broken by Usain Bolt
Usain Bolt
The Honourable Usain St. Leo Bolt, OJ, C.D. , is a Jamaican sprinter and a five-time World and three-time Olympic gold medalist. He is the world record and Olympic record holder in the 100 metres, the 200 metres and the 4×100 metres relay...
at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
World's Fastest Man competition
In May 1997 he raced against Michael JohnsonMichael Johnson (athlete)
Michael Duane Johnson is a retired American sprinter. He won four Olympic gold medals and eight world championship gold medals. Johnson currently holds the world and Olympic records in the 400 m and 4 x 400 meters relay. He formerly held the world and Olympic record in the 200 m, and the world...
in a 150 m race at Toronto's SkyDome in a bid to truly determine who the world's fastest man was. Earlier in the spring of 1997 Johnson began performing television promotions in which he billed himself as "the world's fastest man" as a result of his 200 meters
200 metres
A 200 metres race is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 m track, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques are needed to successfully run the race. A slightly shorter race, called the stadion and run on a straight track, was the first...
world record, despite the fact that the 100 m world record holders are traditionally given that unofficial title. Bailey initially refused to take part, stating that "the world's fastest man was decided in Atlanta."
Bailey won $1.5 million for winning the race in which Johnson, who was well behind Bailey, pulled up around the 110 m mark, with an injured quadricep muscle.
After racing
After racing Bailey started his own company called DBX Sport Management which helps amateur athletes find a way to promote themselves and a sport injury clinic in Oakville, Ontario.He has been inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
Canada's Sports Hall of Fame is a hall of fame established in 1955 to "preserve the record of Canadian sports achievements and to promote a greater awareness of Canada's heritage of sport." It is located at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, Alberta...
twice: in 2004 as an individual, and in 2008 as part of the 1996 Summer Olympics 4x100 relay team.
In August 2008 Bailey worked as a track commentator for CBC Television
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
at the 2008 Summer Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
. He estimated that had Usain Bolt
Usain Bolt
The Honourable Usain St. Leo Bolt, OJ, C.D. , is a Jamaican sprinter and a five-time World and three-time Olympic gold medalist. He is the world record and Olympic record holder in the 100 metres, the 200 metres and the 4×100 metres relay...
not slowed down near the end of the 100m dash (which he still won in record time), he could have set a time of 9.55 seconds.
Family
Bailey's half-sister, Arlene DuncanArlene Duncan
Arlene Duncan is a Canadian singer/actress from Oakville, Ontario. She is currently in the CBC sitcom Little Mosque on the Prairie. Her half brother is Canadian Olympic sprinter Donovan Bailey.-External links:...
, is a television actress currently starring in the Canadian television sitcom Little Mosque on the Prairie
Little Mosque on the Prairie
Little Mosque on the Prairie is a Canadian sitcom on CBC, created by Zarqa Nawaz and produced by WestWind Pictures. It is filmed in Toronto, Ontario and Indian Head, Saskatchewan...
.
Personal Best
| Event | Time (seconds) | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50 metres 50 metres 50 metres is a sprint event in track and field. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At outdoor athletics competitions it is a rare distance, at least for senior athletes... |
5.56  |
Reno, Nevada Reno, Nevada Reno is the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The city has a population of about 220,500 and is the most populous Nevada city outside of the Las Vegas metropolitan area... , United States |
February 9, 1996 |
| 60 metres 60 metres 60 metres is a sprint event in track and field athletics. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At outdoor venues it is a rare distance, at least for senior athletes... |
6.51 | Maebashi, Gunma Maebashi, Gunma is the capital city of Gunma Prefecture, Japan.The city was founded on April 1, 1892, by the samurai Makuba Kawai.On December 5, 2004 the town of Ōgo, and the villages of Kasukawa and Miyagi, all from Seta District, were merged into Maebashi.... , Japan |
February 8, 1997 |
| 100 metres 100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-metre dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, it is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896... |
9.84  |
Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in... , United States |
July 27, 1996 |
| 150 metres | 14.99 | Toronto, Ontario, Canada | June 1, 1997 |
| 200 metres 200 metres A 200 metres race is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 m track, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques are needed to successfully run the race. A slightly shorter race, called the stadion and run on a straight track, was the first... |
20.42 | Lucerne Lucerne Lucerne is a city in north-central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of that country. Lucerne is the capital of the Canton of Lucerne and the capital of the district of the same name. With a population of about 76,200 people, Lucerne is the most populous city in Central Switzerland, and... , Switzerland |
July 2, 1998 |