Saturday, July 27, 1996
Bailey starting to believe in himself
By JIM O'LEARY --
SLAM! Sports
ATLANTA -- "I'm ready guys, I'm ready.''
Donovan Bailey was grinning like he'd already won his medal. It was minutes after he advanced through qualifying to the Olympic 100-metre semi-final. He crossed the line second to Linford Christie with a decent time of 10:05 and began kibitzing with anyone within quipping distance.
Then he stopped by to smile at the press.
He didn't have a lot to say, but that big, friendly smile, the one that makes Bailey such an attractive TV pitchman -- was telling. He resembled a guy who thought he'd lost his paycheque only to have it appear in the wash a few days later.Relief. That's what it was.
Bailey wasn't huffing and puffing at the finish line as much as he was letting out a long, satisfying pheeeeww.
"I'm getting better,'' he said. "I was worried this morning, but now I know what I have to do.''
The first day of Olympic qualifying should be a breeze for a sprinter of Bailey's stature. There were 107 runners to start the day, most of them plodders, by world-class standards. At the end only 16 remained. Bailey should hardly have broken a sweat in this company.
But the day was stressful for Bailey. All Canadian eyes were upon him, watching to see how he'd respond to the mini-maelstroms that had been engulfing him in the days leading up to his arrival in Atlanta. For all his accomplishments, Bailey is an Olympic rookie, and rookies make mistakes and often react poorly to pressure.
"I didn't sleep last night,'' Bailey said.
But he seemed to be napping when the gun sounded in his first heat. It's difficult to imagine a world champion ever having a worse start in a major competition. Instead of driving from the blocks, Bailey reacted as if the gun woke him up. He snapped upright, took a couple clumsy steps and lurched awkwardly in the direction everyone else seemed to be heading.
Bailey, 28, is the reigning world champion, but in sprint terms he is a pup. When Christie was winning the gold in Barcelona ahead of Frankie Fredericks, Dennis Mitchell and Bruny Surin in an Olympic field that included Mike Marsh and Ato Boldon, Bailey was establishing his clothing import business and sprinting part time. To win the Olympic 100-metre gold medal requires great speed and power, but also tremendous composure.
There was no indication, as Bailey settled into the blocks yesterday, that he possessed that essential final ingredient.
Christie had a silver medal from 1988 before he struck gold in '92. Ben Johnson won a bronze in 1984 before he shocked Carl Lewis in '88. Composure is a by-product of experience and, as yesterday began, it loomed as the most significant question mark on Bailey's otherwise impressive resume.
When Bailey landed in Atlanta on Wednesday, you half expected he'd hail a porter just to tote his emotional baggage. The crate would be large and it would be stamped: Fragile, handle with care.
His worries were many. Could an injured left thigh and left hip hold up? Would people believe his protestations of misquote after a magazine article claimed Bailey said Canada is as blatantly racist as the U.S.? Should he go to the bedside of a gravely ill favorite uncle? Would people be sympathetic with his angry reaction after he was forced to undergo four doping tests in five days?
Bailey admitted he was depressed and he sounded confused. His coaches conceded that the Olympic pressure was getting to him. Finally, he phoned Ben Johnson for advice. Among Ben's tips was that Bailey get plenty of sleep, particularly the night before his event. So what does Bailey do? He tosses and turns most of the night preceeding his Olympic debut, then stumbles from the starting blocks, looking every bit like someone wearing shoes that are five sizes too big or an athlete wound so tight his head is about to explode.
By the end of the yesterday, however, Bailey seemed to be regaining control. He started better in his second race (although there's still plenty of room to improve) and he ran powerfully through the middle of the heat before pumping the breaks through the final 15 metres.
He looked fast but, more important, he looked relaxed. If he can carry that into Saturday and get out of the starting blocks without stumbling, he'll challenge for the gold medal.
Bailey wasn't about to make any prediction. But his smile indicated a belief that, for the first time in many days, he may believe he can do it.
