Saturday, June 26, 1999
By JUDY OWEN -- Winnipeg Sun
Bruny Surin would rather be playing tag with his two daughters than busting his tail to catch up with the
fastest men in the world.
And he makes no apologies for that.
The Canadian sprinter's priorities in life are clear -- family first, track second.
There was a time when those priorities were reversed, but it wasn't a happy time.
"The biggest mistake I did was in '96 because I said, 'Let me try that for one year. For the Olympics
Games, I'm going to focus so much on track and field,' " Surin said yesterday.
"At some points, I didn't even like track. When I got to the gates, I was so stressed because I'd put
all the eggs in one basket. I was like, now I have to do something. I had so much pressure on myself and I didn't
even make the (Olympic 100-metre) finals.
ENJOY IT
"That's when I realized, OK, do I do track for people or do I run track to enjoy it for me. From that
day I was, like, no, that's not me."
Surin -- in Winnipeg for the three-day Canadian Senior Track and Field Championships which began last night
at Pan Am Stadium -- believes that family-first philosophy is bringing out the best in him.
The defending national 100-m champion spends as much time as he can in Montreal with his wife, Bianelle,
five-year-old daughter Kimberley-Ann and 3 1/2-year-old Katherine Jessica.
When he goes to meets, he calls home every day. Sometimes, that's just not good enough.
"Sometimes when I'm in Europe and some more meets are coming, I talked to my manager and said, 'I know
that's good money, but I need to go home. Change my ticket, I need to go home right away,' " Surin, 31, said.
"Yeah, I lose some income, but at the same time, I'm very happy with my family so I play with both."
It's that attitude that has also allowed him to accept being in the shadow of other sprinters such as teammate
Donovan Bailey.
"I'm never looking for attention whatsoever," Surin said. "I'm very happy with my life right
now. Track and field is not the centre of my life. My main thing is my family. Track is second in my life.
"If I have to choose between my family and my track and field, I would quit track right away."
Funny thing, though, as Surin adopted that post-Olympic relaxed attitude, his technique and times are improving.
He clocked a personal best of 9.89 to win the 100m at last year's nationals. Earlier this month, he ran a
9.92 to finish first in a race in Germany.
QUICKEST TIME
That was the quickest time this year until American Maurice Greene wiped out Bailey's '96 world record of
9.84 with a blistering 9.79 in Athens.
Surin believes he has it in him to match or surpass that new pace.
"I know that I'm capable to run like Maurice or even faster," said Surin, who has two world titles
in the indoor 60m. "That I know for a fact."
He's even marked down the time he wants to run in the 100 in a personal notebook, but won't reveal what it
is.
"What I'm aiming at now, I don't even tell because people are going to say that I'm crazy."
As for this weekend's competition, from which Canada's team for the Pan Am Games and world championships
will be picked, Surin has his sights set on winning the 100m and setting a new Canadian record in the 200m.
The 200 record is 20.17. Surin's fastest time is 20.42.