Donovan Bailey
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Template:MedalTableTopPic Template:MedalSport Template:MedalOlympic Template:MedalGold Template:MedalGold Template:MedalCompetition Template:MedalGold Template:MedalGold Template:MedalGold Template:MedalSilver Template:MedalBottom Donovan Bailey (born December 16, 1967) is a Canadian former athlete.
Born in Manchester, Jamaica, Bailey emigrated from Jamaica 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 successful stockbroker.
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[edit] Career
At the 1995 World Track & Field Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden, Bailey won both the 100 metre sprint and the 4 x 100 metre relay titles.
As a precursor to the centennial Olympic's being held in Atlanta; Bailey broke the indoor 50 m world record during a competition in Reno, Nevada. He was timed at 5.56A seconds. He 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 2nd 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 the "triple crown".
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 97 season, Bailey allegedly 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 five-time World and 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). It remains the Olympic record as of 2007.
Donovan Bailey set the indoor world record in the 50 metres (5.56A, in Reno, Nevada, in 1996); Maurice Greene matched that performance in 1999, but his run was never ratified as a world record.
[edit] Bailey-Johnson 150m race
In June of 1997, he raced against Michael Johnson in a 150 m race at Toronto's SkyDome in a bid to truly determine who was the world's fastest man. Earlier that year, 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 metres world record holders are traditionally given that unofficial title. Bailey initially refused to take part, stated that "the world's fastest man was decided in Atlanta". Bailey won $2 million for winning that race, in which Johnson pulled out at the 100 m mark with what he alleged was an injured quadriceps muscle. Fans at the event (which nearly bankrupted the promoter) booed Johnson for what appeared dropping out while Bailey was ahead of him past the 100 meter mark.
[edit] After racing
After racing, Bailey started his own company called DBX Sport Management, which helps amateur athletes find a way to promote themselves.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
Template:Start box |- ! colspan="3" style="background: #FFF179;" |Awards Template:Succession box Template:End box
| Olympic champions in men's 100 m |
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| Olympic champions in men's 4×100 m relay |
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Template:Persondataca:Donovan Bailey de:Donovan Bailey es:Donovan Bailey fr:Donovan Bailey hr:Donovan Bailey it:Donovan Bailey he:דונובן ביילי nl:Donovan Bailey ja:ドノバン・ベイリー no:Donovan Bailey pl:Donovan Bailey sr:Донован Бејли fi:Donovan Bailey sv:Donovan Bailey
Categories: 1967 births | Living people | People from Oakville, Ontario | Ontario sportspeople | Black Canadians | Athletes at the 1996 Summer Olympics | Athletes at the 2000 Summer Olympics | Canadian sprinters | Jamaican athletes | Fenerbahçe athletes | Olympic athletes of Canada | Canada's Sports Hall of Fame | Canadian track and field athletes | Jamaican immigrants to Canada | Olympic gold medalists for Canada
