Track & Field: Donovan Bailey

Donovan Bailey heads to his second Olympic Games in Sydney amid concerns-mostly from his fans -- after suffering a small tear of a hamstring muscle at a race in Stockholm. Apparently the injury is not serious and he should be fully recovered in time for the Games. Dealing with injuries is nothing new for Bailey. He made a remarkable comeback from a career-threatening torn Achilles tendon suffered in September 1998 which kept him out of action for nine months. He also overcame an adductor muscle injury 10 days before the '96 Games in Atlanta, coming back to win the gold medal in a world-record time of 9.84 seconds.

"I've had a lot of obstacles in my career," Bailey said recently. "This is just really a bump. I have total confidence everything will be fine."

The double Olympic champion and three-time world champion was born in Jamaica and moved to Canada at age 13. He graduated from an economics course at Sheridan College, where he played forward for the college basketball team. He was building a successful career as an independent market consultant and a stockbroker in Toronto, while running track was his hobby. In 1990, he started to train under the direction of Erwin Turney, but he didn't take track seriously until he began working with Dan Pfaff in 1995.

He is not the only talent in his family. His half-sister, Arlene Duncan, is an actress and singer, who was a cast member of the Toronto production of 'Tommy'.

2000 Games