Donovan Bailey (born December 16, 1967, in Jamaica) | Black History Month | Seneca Students

Born in Jamaica, Donovan Bailey and his family moved to Canada when he was 12 (Donovan Bailey, 2021). With more of an interest in basketball than in running, he did not consider a running career even when he clocked 10.65 seconds for the 100 m sprint at the age of 16. He earned a business administration degree from Sheridan College. It was not until 1990 that he decided to race professionally after watching the 1990 Canadian Track and Field Championships and saw that many of those who were competing, were the same competitors he had beaten in high school. From 1991 to 1995, he scooped up medal after medal improving his time to 9.91 seconds and becoming the second man to break the 10 second barrier. He was selected to represent Canada in the 1996 Olympics, where he won and set a new record of 9.84 seconds. In 1997, he competed against Michael Johnson to see who was the world’s fastest man. Mr. Bailey ended up winning and taking home $1.5 million dollars. He continued to compete, finally retiring in 2001. He has been inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in 2004 and 2008 and was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2016.

Reference

Donovan Bailey. (2021, December 7). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donovan_Bailey