Canada’s iconic Olympic athlete, Donovan Bailey has been appointed an Officer of Order of Canada. Bailey was appointed alongside 84 appointees from the worlds of film, music, science, politics, business, academics, sport and culture.
The Order of Canada is one of the biggest civilian honours, and it recognizes Canadians that have made special contributions to the nation.
Bailey immigrated to Canada from Jamaica when he was 12 years and he was the first Canadian to legitimately break the 10-second barrier when he won a gold medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.
At the time, his 9.84 seconds set a world record, which he held for two years and 11 months. Bailey still holds the Canadian 100m record till date.
Also, Bailey won gold in the men’s 4x100m relay team at the 1996 Olympics with Bruny Surin, Glenroy Gilbert and Robert Esmie.
Bailey raced against the 200m Olympic champion Michael Johnson over 150m in 1997 at Toronto’s Skydome to determine the World’s Fastest Man. The race was won by Bailey in 14.99 seconds as Johnson pulled up halfway.
Bailey retired from track and field in 2001 to establish his company, helping amateur athletes who needed promotion themselves onto the scene. He was inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.
