Athletics: Bailey hails Jamaican sprinters

He hailed the halt of the drain of top sprint athletes from the Caribbean island.

OSLO: Jamaican-born Canadian Donovan Bailey, a former 100 metres world record holder and Atlanta Olympics gold medallist, has hailed the halt of the drain of top sprint athletes from the Caribbean island. The 43-year-old Bailey, who set a then-world record of 9.84 seconds when he won the 100 metres gold in the 1996 Atlanta Games to follow up on world gold in Gothenburg a year earlier, emigrated to Canada at the age of 13. And in the world of athletics, many Jamaicans have found themselves competing for other adopted countries, but Bailey said improved infrastructure has helped and will continue to help persuade many more to stay put.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 10th, 2011.