Donovan Bailey

Donovan Bailey - Former Sprinter, Timeline and Childhood

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Donovan Bailey's Personal Details

Donovan Bailey is a Canadian former sprinter

InformationDetail
BirthdayDecember 16, 1967
NationalityCanadian
FamousSportspersons, Former Sprinter, Sports Personalities
SpousesMichelle Mullin
ChildrensAdrienna
Birth PlaceManchester, Jamaica
Height185
GenderMale
FatherGeorge Bailey
MotherDaisy
Net Worth$1.3 billion as of Jan 31,2017
Sun SignSagittarius
Born inManchester, Jamaica
Famous asFormer Sprinter

Donovan Bailey's photo

Who is Donovan Bailey?

Donovan Bailey is a Canadian former sprinter. He is an Olympic gold medalist who became the first Canadian to achieve the sub-10 seconds time in 100m sprint. During the 1996 Olympic Games held at Atlanta he set a new world record of 9.84s +0.7 m/s wind in 100 m. Bailey was reputed for his remarkable speed, most notably his 27.07 mph (12.10 m/s) title run in the 1996 Olympic Games. He also set a world record of 5.56 seconds in indoor 50m dash at Reno, Nevada, in 1996. His major accomplishments included two gold medals in Olympic Games, one in 100m and the other in 4 × 100 m relay, both in 1996; one gold and one silver medal in 100m in 1995 and 1997 respectively and two gold medals in 4 × 100 m relay in 1995 and 1997 at the World Championships; one gold medal in 4 × 100 m relay event in the 1994 Commonwealth games; and two silver medals in 4 × 100 m relay event in 1991 and 1999 at the Pan America Games. He is the second sprinter after Carl Lewis who concurrently held all the major titles in 100m dash – the World Record holder, the Olympic champion and the World Champion. He was inducted in the ‘Ontario Sports Hall of Fame’ in 2005; and twice in Canada's Sports Hall of Fame, first as an individual sprinter in 2004 and then in 2008 as a part of the 4 × 100 relay team of the 1996 Summer Olympics.

Childhood & Early Life

He was born on December 16, 1967, in Manchester, Jamaica, to George Bailey and his wife Daisy as one of their five sons. He would wake up with the first light of the day and take care of the pigs, chickens and goats of his family and then attend school.

In 1981 he immigrated to Canada to live with his father in Oakville, a suburban town in Southern Ontario. There he joined the ‘Queen Elizabeth Park High School’ and became a part of the track team of the school.

When he was 16 he participated in a 100m dash, which he completed in 10.65s. However he was more of a basketball enthusiast than a sprinter.

After completing high school education he attended ‘Sheridan College’, Oakville and studied economics. In college he participated in the basketball team playing forward for one season.

Career

He received a diploma in business administration following which he ventured in marketing and investment-consulting business. He also ran an import-export clothing business. He bought his own house in Oakville at 22 years of age and owned a Porsche 911 convertible.

However among all these he always harboured his love for sports that saw him entering sprint races occasionally. Gradually he started to train himself seriously in the sports and in 1991 he started taking part in different 100m sprints as a part-timer. That year he emerged winner of the 60m dash at the Ontario indoor championships.

In August 1991 he bagged a silver medal in 4 × 100 m relay in the Pan American Games held at Havana, Cuba.

He was inducted as a member of the Canadian team at the World Championships in 1993, where he was introduced to imminent American track and field coach Dan Pfaff. Bailey started training under Pfaff and with time improved on his technique and style, which led to improving his starts as also consistency in his pace throughout the run.

The 100m dash was structured by Bailey as 20 m of start, next 50 m of acceleration and last 30 m of relaxation.

Although his first gold came with the 4 × 100 m relay event at the 1994 Commonwealth Games at Victoria in British Columbia, Canada, his gradual improvement as a sprinter saw him sealing the eighth position in world ranking in 100m dash by the turn of 1994.

In spring of 1995, for the first time he achieved sub-10s timing in 100m. During the Canadian track and field championships held in July that year he set a Canadian record of 9.91 sec in 100m.

His first major gold medal came in 1995 with the 5th World Championships in Athletics held in Gothenburg, Sweden, winning him the 100m title. His further accomplishment in the championship was a gold medal in the men’s 4 × 100 m relay that year.

In 1996 he succeeded in breaking the indoor 50m world record by setting his own new record of 5.56 seconds in a competition held In Reno, Nevada, US. Although this timing of Bailey was equalled in 1999 by American former track and field sprinter Maurice Greene, the run by the latter was not ratified as a world record.

Bailey triumphed in both the 100m and 4 × 100 m relay events at the 1996 Olympic Games held at Atlanta, Georgia, US, thus winning two gold medals in Olympics that year. Not only had he won the 100m title in Olympics that year but also set the new world record of 9.84s +0.7 m/s wind in 100 m dash. This record was later surpassed by a new world record of 9.79 s (+0.1 m/s wind) in 1999 by Maurice Greene.

In 1997 he captured another World Championships title winning gold medal along with the Canadian relay team in the 4 × 100 m relay event held at Athens, Greece. However he finished second at the 100m dash in the World Championships that year and had to remain content with a silver medal, while Greene outshined as the winner.

He clinched his next major win in May 1997 in the ‘SkyDome’ stadium in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in a one-to-one 150 m sprint against American sprinter Michael Johnson in a bid to ascertain who among the two was the world’s fastest man. Earlier that year Johnson publicized himself as ‘the world’s fastest man’ while performing in TV promotions. Bailey won the race in 14.99 seconds and earned $1.5 million, the highest prize in the history of athletics, while Johnson grasped his thigh in pain.

Bailey met with a career-ending injury in September 1998 when he ruptured his Achilles tendon in the middle of a basketball game he was playing with friends. He struggled to walk after a surgery of the tendon.

However overcoming all odds he succeeded in making a comeback and won a silver medal in 4 × 100 m relay of the 1999 Pan American Games, at Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

He regained the numero uno position as a sprinter in Canada by 2000, however failed to win any international title.

He took retirement in 2001.

He founded the ‘Donovan Bailey Foundation’ in 2002 to help amateur athletes in Canada.

In 2003 Bailey along with other athletes and sports executives established the DBX Sport Management, a company that aids amateur athletes. He also opened a sport injury clinic in Oakville, Ontario.

During the 2008 Summer Olympics, he served CBC Television as a track commentator.

Personal Life & Legacy

In 2004 he married British born Realtor Michelle Mullin, his girlfriend of 12 years, in the Half Moon Hotel, Montego Bay, Jamaica. He presently lives with Michelle and daughter Adrienna in his home in Oakville, Ontario.

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Donovan Bailey biography timelines

  • // 16th Dec 1967
    He was born on December 16, 1967, in Manchester, Jamaica, to George Bailey and his wife Daisy as one of their five sons. He would wake up with the first light of the day and take care of the pigs, chickens and goats of his family and then attend school.
  • // 1981
    In 1981 he immigrated to Canada to live with his father in Oakville, a suburban town in Southern Ontario. There he joined the ‘Queen Elizabeth Park High School’ and became a part of the track team of the school.
  • // 1991
    However among all these he always harboured his love for sports that saw him entering sprint races occasionally. Gradually he started to train himself seriously in the sports and in 1991 he started taking part in different 100m sprints as a part-timer. That year he emerged winner of the 60m dash at the Ontario indoor championships.
  • // Aug 1991
    In August 1991 he bagged a silver medal in 4 × 100 m relay in the Pan American Games held at Havana, Cuba.
  • // 1993
    He was inducted as a member of the Canadian team at the World Championships in 1993, where he was introduced to imminent American track and field coach Dan Pfaff. Bailey started training under Pfaff and with time improved on his technique and style, which led to improving his starts as also consistency in his pace throughout the run.
  • // 1994
    Although his first gold came with the 4 × 100 m relay event at the 1994 Commonwealth Games at Victoria in British Columbia, Canada, his gradual improvement as a sprinter saw him sealing the eighth position in world ranking in 100m dash by the turn of 1994.
  • // 1995
    In spring of 1995, for the first time he achieved sub-10s timing in 100m. During the Canadian track and field championships held in July that year he set a Canadian record of 9.91 sec in 100m.
  • // 1995
    His first major gold medal came in 1995 with the 5th World Championships in Athletics held in Gothenburg, Sweden, winning him the 100m title. His further accomplishment in the championship was a gold medal in the men’s 4 × 100 m relay that year.
  • // 1996 To 1999
    In 1996 he succeeded in breaking the indoor 50m world record by setting his own new record of 5.56 seconds in a competition held In Reno, Nevada, US. Although this timing of Bailey was equalled in 1999 by American former track and field sprinter Maurice Greene, the run by the latter was not ratified as a world record.
  • // 1996 To 1999
    Bailey triumphed in both the 100m and 4 × 100 m relay events at the 1996 Olympic Games held at Atlanta, Georgia, US, thus winning two gold medals in Olympics that year. Not only had he won the 100m title in Olympics that year but also set the new world record of 9.84s +0.7 m/s wind in 100 m dash. This record was later surpassed by a new world record of 9.79 s (+0.1 m/s wind) in 1999 by Maurice Greene.
  • // 1997
    In 1997 he captured another World Championships title winning gold medal along with the Canadian relay team in the 4 × 100 m relay event held at Athens, Greece. However he finished second at the 100m dash in the World Championships that year and had to remain content with a silver medal, while Greene outshined as the winner.
  • // May 1997
    He clinched his next major win in May 1997 in the ‘SkyDome’ stadium in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in a one-to-one 150 m sprint against American sprinter Michael Johnson in a bid to ascertain who among the two was the world’s fastest man. Earlier that year Johnson publicized himself as ‘the world’s fastest man’ while performing in TV promotions. Bailey won the race in 14.99 seconds and earned $1.5 million, the highest prize in the history of athletics, while Johnson grasped his thigh in pain.
  • // Sep 1998
    Bailey met with a career-ending injury in September 1998 when he ruptured his Achilles tendon in the middle of a basketball game he was playing with friends. He struggled to walk after a surgery of the tendon.
  • // 1999
    However overcoming all odds he succeeded in making a comeback and won a silver medal in 4 × 100 m relay of the 1999 Pan American Games, at Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
  • // 2000
    He regained the numero uno position as a sprinter in Canada by 2000, however failed to win any international title.
  • // 2001
    He took retirement in 2001.
  • // 2002
    He founded the ‘Donovan Bailey Foundation’ in 2002 to help amateur athletes in Canada.
  • // 2003
    In 2003 Bailey along with other athletes and sports executives established the DBX Sport Management, a company that aids amateur athletes. He also opened a sport injury clinic in Oakville, Ontario.
  • // 2004
    In 2004 he married British born Realtor Michelle Mullin, his girlfriend of 12 years, in the Half Moon Hotel, Montego Bay, Jamaica. He presently lives with Michelle and daughter Adrienna in his home in Oakville, Ontario.
  • // 2008
    During the 2008 Summer Olympics, he served CBC Television as a track commentator.

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Donovan Bailey's FAQ

  • What is Donovan Bailey birthday?

    Donovan Bailey was born at 1967-12-16

  • Where is Donovan Bailey's birth place?

    Donovan Bailey was born in Manchester, Jamaica

  • What is Donovan Bailey nationalities?

    Donovan Bailey's nationalities is Canadian

  • Who is Donovan Bailey spouses?

    Donovan Bailey's spouses is Michelle Mullin

  • Who is Donovan Bailey childrens?

    Donovan Bailey's childrens is Adrienna

  • How tall is Donovan Bailey?

    Donovan Bailey's height is 185

  • Who is Donovan Bailey's father?

    Donovan Bailey's father is George Bailey

  • Who is Donovan Bailey's mother?

    Donovan Bailey's mother is Daisy

  • What is Donovan Bailey's sun sign?

    Donovan Bailey is Sagittarius

  • How famous is Donovan Bailey?

    Donovan Bailey is famouse as Former Sprinter