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Not a major race, Crystal Palace was meant for Bailey to be a race for him to see how well he could hold up for the rest of the season. Bailey has been hampered with injuries for most of the second half of this season.
Pleased with the results, Bailey won easily in 10.13s.
Hampered by injuries lately, Bailey had his worst placing in 1997 in Zurich.
Frankie Fredericks won the race as Bailey came in a disappointing sixth place faltering at the 80 meter mark. He recorded a time of 10.17s.
The U.S. team claimed they would beat Canada and the World Record, but flopped in the first round heats.
Canada, anchored by Bailey, were champions again as Bailey crossed the finished line at 37.86s.
Nigeria was second followed by Britain.
Although he did not retain his championship title, Bailey still faired well at the World Championships in Athens winning silver in 9.91s behind Maurice Greene (9.86s).
Greene said Bailey was having problems with his leg before the race.
Running below 100%, Bailey also ran in 9.91s in his semi-final heat. Both times are much better than his opening races where he ran in 10.10s and 10.17s.
Bailey says he has been having problems with cramps and has dropped 12 pounds.
Bailey was curious to try his luck at the 200 meters and it happened at the Mobil Bislett Games in Oslo, Norway. It didn’t start as planned as Bailey had a dreadful start and endured around the curve as Geir Moen took an early lead. But Donovan waited for the straight-a-way and charged past Moen to record a first place finish in the 200 meters at 20.14s.
Donovan placed a disappointing third in Lausanne, SUI. Athletissima ’97 showed Maurice Greene placing first in the pouring rain with an excellent time of 9.90s. Frankie Fredericks placed second at 9.91s and Bailey followed with 9.97s. The placement came after 80 meters when Bailey faltered due to a hamstring which he said came across Tuesday afternoon.
In Sheffield, Bailey gave the Brits an exciting performance. Organizers seeked to hold their own "challenge" by hyping a dual between former Olympic champsion Linford Christie and Donovan Bailey. The difference with this event was that the race included eight excellent sprinters as opposed to the one-on-one fiasco held at SkyDome. Donovan came off the bend with a two meter lead and held it until the finish. Christie fought hard, but was slightly outdone by training partner, Ian Mackie. Bailey recorded a time of 15.01s with Mackie (15.25) and Christie (15.27) in the next two top spots.
Wednesday, June 25, 1997
Donovan ran the 100 meters at Meeting Gaz de France held in Paris. There he managed a first place mark of 10.07s just ahead of American Tim Montgomery who ran in 10.12s.
On Sunday, June 8, 1997 amidst wind and rain, the 40th Znamensky Memorial continued.
The conditions weren't the most exceptional for the athletes, but the meet went on as did the 100 meter contest in which Bailey ran. Although the track was a bed of rain, Bailey's performance wasn't up to par as normally expected. He did come in second, but lost the race in the last 30 meters, his strongest suit. He managed a time of 10.28s, second to Nigerian Davidson Ezinwa (10.20s).
Tuesday, June 3, 1997
| Bailey says he is sorry for making remarks about Michael Johnson after winning the race on Sunday. After winning the race, Bailey called Johnson a "chicken" and a "coward" in TV interviews and suggested that he was pretending he pulled. Bailey was quoted in The Toronto Star as saying, "I saw a couple of comments that I made on TV and I thought, "That's not me. That's not right."." He was also quoted saying, "The insults were going back and forth. I definately reduced myself to someone I am not." | Bailey also wants to be on a friendlier level with Johnson. "Michael and I were extremely civil before Atlanta. I'd see him on the track circuit and we'd talk a bit," Bailey said, "Hopefully, we can get that back again. I'll see him and talk to him and find out what's up if he's receptive to that." Donovan also showed concern for Johnson's injury, "I really hope it's not a torn quad. I hope it's a cramp or something. That way, he's not denied his chance of defending his world championships." |
The much hyped One-to-One Challenge between Donovan Bailey and Michael Johnson finally occurred Sunday, June 1st after much anticipation.
The stories of the other one-to-one challenges have taken backseat to the fifteen second event that would mark the end of the untraditional meet, as well as the end of an argument that has lasted since the Olympics in Atlanta. That is the argument as to who holds the title of the world's fastest man.
As the two elite track stars settled into their blocks, the tension began to rise. This was the race.
After the gun shot, it was Bailey with the faster response time. At 25 meters, Bailey was 2.33 meters behind Johnson and level with him on the inside curve. Bailey is ahead of Johnson after 50 meters. Bailey was not expected to handle the curve so well against Johnson and at the 75 meter mark, the start of the straight-a-way, Donovan begins to increase distance just before Johnson stumbled on his left leg. At the 100 meter mark, Johnson abandons the race due to his leg as Bailey roars towards the finish line. Just a few meters before the finish, Bailey looks back, almost turning his entire body, to see what had become of Johnson.
After passing the finish line, Bailey was leaping for joy as the crowd at SkyDome was thunderous in their applause and cheers. Bailey went from one area to another receiving congratulations and thanking a lot of people. Once and for all, this overhyped event came to a close.
| Start - Response Times Bailey: 171ms Johnson: 189ms | Time @ 50 meters Bailey: 5.74s Johnson: 5.83s | Time @ 100 meters Bailey: 10.24s Johnson: 10.63s | Finish Bailey: 14.99s |
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Copyright (c) 1997, 1998 NetSpace1, Frank Williamson.