Saturday, June 26, 1999
Bailey struggles to third at Canadian track championships; Surin wins in 9.88
By GLEN COLBOURN -- Canadian Press
WINNIPEG -- Bruny Surin ran the fastest 100 metres ever on Canadian soil on Saturday -- and found himself
answering questions about Donovan Bailey.
Bailey, continuing his comeback from a torn Achilles tendon, finished third in the marquee event at the Canadian
track and field championships. He called his performance "pathetic."
Surin outclassed the field at Pan Am stadium, winning gold in 9.88 seconds. The time, however, will not count
as a record because of a tail wind of 3.1 metres per second, over the 2.0 limit.
"That was a very good race," Surin said. "I was a little disappointed about the wind.
"Technically I wasn't perfect, but I saw the race in slow motion (on a TV monitor) and I know what I
have to do to get even better."
Brad McCuaig of Calgary was second in 10.18 seconds. Bailey, of Oakville, Ont., clocked 10.19.
The race, in front of about 3,000 fans on a sunny afternoon, was nonetheless a minor redemption for the Olympic
gold medallist. He barely qualified for the final after finishing third in his semifinal in 10.38 seconds. His
final time was similar to the wind-aided 10.23 he ran in Calgary last weekend.
"I'm stiff, I'm not breathing, I'm not accelerating... there's tons of things I have to work on,"
said Bailey, a notorious perfectionist.
He is to race next in Paris on Saturday. He returns to Winnipeg next month to headline the July 23-Aug. 8
Pan Am Games.
"I leave here feeling like I'm making inroads to where I want to be," said Bailey, who was adamant
that his Achilles was healthy.
"This is all going to take time. Maybe I need to learn some patience. But maybe it will all happen in
the next race."
Earlier, he warned people not to write him off.
"I'm on my way back and whoever thinks I'm out of it is going to be sadly mistaken in the next month
or two."
Surin said his continuing strong results -- he ran a legal 9.92 in Germany earlier this summer -- is giving
him confidence.
"Now I know I can be running against the top guys. Psychologically I'm 100 per cent and I'm ready to
go back to Europe and back to training."
In other action at the Canadian championships, which wrap up today, Richard Duncan of St. Catharines, Ont.,
won gold in both the long jump and triple jump.
"I was pretty happy," said Duncan, who has been battling hamstring problems. "I hadn't jumped
in a month.
"My main thing was just to come out here and win. I hadn't won a national long jump title even though
I've been the best in Canada."
Shane Niemi of Kamloops, B.C., broke a Canadian record when he won gold in the 400 metres in 45.52 seconds.
He broke Atlee Mahorn's 13-year-old standard of 45.62.
Niemi, who just turned 21, credited the crowd with giving him a boost.
"It felt huge. You hear them cheering you and it gives you that last blast of energy."
Katie Anderson won the women's 100-metre hurdles in 12.76 seconds despite a throbbing left Achilles that
caused her to limp badly after she finished. She was helped off the track and had a huge ice bag wrapped around
her heel and ankle.
"The pain was bad enough that I couldn't do my warmups properly," said Anderson, who won a bronze
at the world indoors earlier this year.
"Once I got to the starting block, I thought 'You've gone through so much pain you might as well keep
going.'
"But there were times I just wanted to sit down and watch the end of the race."
The Toronto native said doctors have suggested she rest, but with the Pan Ams and world championships coming
up she is determined to keep racing.
Other winners Saturday included: Montreal's Kwaku Boateng in the men's high jump; Adrian Woodley of Whitby,
Ont., in the men's 110-metre hurdles; Toronto's Jeff Adams in the wheelchair 400; Becky Chambers of Toronto in
the women's pole vault; and Leah Pells of Coquitlam, B.C., in the women's 1,500.