In July and August 1996, the world sent its finest athletes to Atlanta. Some athletes came as familiar names from familiar nations. Others had toiled in obscurity. Each came proudly to Atlanta, and Atlanta received them in the same manner. To commemorate the 20th anniversary of those Summer Games, the AJC offers 20 memorable athletes and performances.
The 12th in the series: Canadian Donovan Bailey wins two gold medals, including in the 100 meters.
As he crossed the finish line, Canadian sprinter Donovan Bailey couldn’t hold back his emotions.
His face told the story as he sauntered around the track for the first time as an Olympic gold medalist. Armed with the Canadian national flag, Bailey couldn’t stop smiling as he knew he had made history.
However, his victory didn’t come without controversy.
Heading into the 1996 Olympics, Bailey wasn’t the favorite to win in Atlanta. While he won gold at the world championships a year earlier, he still was chasing Linford Christie of Great Britain for Olympic glory. Christie had won the gold medal at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain with a time of 9.96 seconds in the 100 meters.
With the spotlight on the finals, Christie drew lane two and Bailey got lane five. Unfortunately, Christie wasn’t able to defend his title. He was disqualified after earning two false starts.
This left the door open for a new champion to reach the Olympic podium. Upon the fourth restart, Bailey overcame a slow start and exploded toward the front. He accelerated to a top-end speed of 27.07 mph and cruised into first place.
Bailey broke the world record for the 100-meter dash. His blistering time of 9.84 seconds was the first time a Canadian sprinter had broken sub-10 seconds in the 100 meters. The victory was decisive as he beat silver medalist Frankie Fredricks of Namibia by .005 seconds.
The win was billed as a defining moment in Canadian sports history. Bailey had restored Canada’s prominence in track after former sprinter Ben Johnson lost his Olympic titles for a doping violation in 1988.
Days later, Bailey captured his another gold medal with Canada’s 4x100 meter team. He ran the “anchor” leg and the team finished first with a time of 37.60 seconds. The time set a Canadian record and capped off an impressive stretch for Bailey.
Twenty years later, Bailey has since retired from track and field and was inducted into the Ontario Hall of Fame in 2005. He is a five-time world champion and has a presence on television as a commentator for Eurosport and Canadian Broadcast Corporation (CBC).
He has also been heavily involved with several charities such as the Big Brothers and Sisters organization, Nine Miles to Smiles and the Right to Play charity.
There, Bailey mentors children and has instilled values to children as the national spokesman for “Bowl For Kids Sake.” The fundraiser raises awareness in the community for children in need of financial support.
In all he accomplished, the smile is still present in all that Bailey does. As he has referenced on his website — he intends to continue making history.
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