Topic spans: 1984 - 2000
Golden Summers: Canada's Gold Medal Athletes 1984-2000
Alex Baumann was best, stalwart Sylvie Frechette showed grace and Donovan Bailey left his rivals in the dust. From 1984 to 2000, CBC Radio and Television followed Canadian athletes chasing Olympic gold. They were the fastest and the strongest and they had Canadians from coast to coast smiling a little wider and cheering a little louder. (For a history of Canada's Olympic winners from 1948 to 1968, please consult our Gold Medal Athletes topic.)
Photo of 1996 Canadian men's Olympic relay team by Andrew Vaughan/Canadian Press.
18 television clips
8 radio clips
1996 Atlanta: Donovan Bailey
Broadcast Date: June 24, 1996
[This clip contains coarse language] The early buzz before the 1996 Games in Atlanta is that the 100-metre sprint will feature the fastest field of athletes ever. The winner of the glamour event also receives the bragging rights to the title of fastest man alive. Many are placing their bets on England's elite runner Linford Christie. But Canadians are setting their sights on their Donovan Bailey. Self-assured, swaggering and bullet-fast, he's unlike anyone we've ever seen.1996 Atlanta: Donovan Bailey
• Before Bailey's event at the Atlanta Olympics, Sports Illustrated published a controversial feature on the sprinter. Journalist Michael Farber quoted Bailey as saying, "Canada is as blatantly racist as the United States. We know it exists. People who don't appear to be Canadian don't get the same treatment." Bailey denied having made the remarks but Sports Illustrated stood by the story.• England's Linford Christie was eliminated from the race after two false starts. Christie, the defending 100-metre champion, refused to accept the call. Brooding and angry, he walked around the starting blocks for five minutes before stripping down to his trunks and leaving the track.
• Bailey won the gold medal with a record time of 9.84 seconds. The previous world record, set by Leroy Burrell on June 7 1994, was 9.85 seconds.
• In 1996 the Canadian Press named Bailey male athlete of the year.
• In 2001, Donovan Bailey retired from competition following a lengthy struggle with lingering injuries. He ran his last race at the World Track Championship in Edmonton in 2001. Following the race, Bailey told CBC Television, "I ran proudly, cleanly, and with dignity for my... our country."
• As of June 2004, Donovan Bailey was the President and CEO of DBX Sport Management, a scouting and recruiting firm.
1996 Atlanta: Donovan Bailey
Medium: Television
Stock-shot
Program: The National
Broadcast Date: June 24, 1996
Guest(s): Donovan Bailey, Glenroy Gilbert, Jeff Gowan, Dan Pfaff, Wilf Phillips, Irwin Turney
Reporter: Tom Alderman
Duration: 7:35
Track footage courtesy of the International Association of Athletics Federation.
Last updated:
July 26, 2004
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26 clips in this topic . page
Radio
1:20
July 17, 1976
After a seemingly never-ending series of problems, the Montreal Olympics are finally about to begin.
Topic
Canada's sweetheart, an overlooked hockey team, the goodtime bobsleigh playboys, and the tiger from British Columbia – these are Canada's post-war Olympic gold players. In an era that predated big...
1996 Atlanta: Donovan Bailey.
The CBC Digital Archives Website.
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Last updated: July 26, 2004.
[Page consulted on Feb. 9, 2010.]