Donovan Bailey was born on December 16, 1967, in Kingston, Jamaica, and went on to become a Jamaican-Canadian sprinter. He held the world record for the 100-meter dash. He is also the 1996 Olympic gold medallist and the first Canadian to legally break the 10-second barrier in the 100 m.
Furthermore, he was inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame as an individual athlete in 2004, but as a member of the 1996 Summer Olympics 4×100 relay team in 2008. In 2005, he was inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame. If you want to be successful, consider the following 40 Donovan Bailey quotations.
- “Follow your passion, be prepared to work hard and sacrifice, and, above all, don’t let anyone limit your dreams.”― Donovan Bailey
- “You have to beat the king to be the king. No one is going to hand you a gold medal.”― Donovan Bailey
- “Every kid needs a mentor. Everybody needs a mentor.”― Donovan Bailey
- “Being surrounded with such positive people always helps.”― Donovan Bailey
- “If you’re open for praise, you have to be open to criticism.”― Donovan Bailey
- “Whenever there is money, power, and titles involved, players are going to be corrupt. That might be a political statement, but that’s what it is for the athletes, too.”― Donovan Bailey
- “You put a very talented kid in a structured environment, where they get to understand and believe how talented they are, and you’ll see some great results.”― Donovan Bailey
- “When you can listen to others’ perspectives, we can learn about the other people that make up this great country.”― Donovan Bailey
- “A strained hamstring is a muscle tear and very easy to take care of with proper therapy. The greatest problem for a sprinter coming back from a hamstring injury is getting yourself to a point where you are confident mentally that all the muscles are going to be firing.”― Donovan Bailey
- “If you botch a handoff or stutter-step in a relay, then your team has to make up that lost time. It’s always you versus the clock.”― Donovan Bailey
- “Always educate yourself.”― Donovan Bailey
- “I’M A RED MEAT LOVER. I EAT CARBS. I LOVE CARBS.”― DONOVAN BAILEY
- “The great thing with Usain Bolt is he fell into great coaching, so his talent was exceptional from Day 1. You can coach technique and structure, but not talent.”― Donovan Bailey
- “I’m a sprinter man. We don’t jog; we don’t walk. It’s full-out. It’s big engines. You don’t take a car that has 600 horsepower for a cross-country drive.”― Donovan Bailey
- “I love Adam Gemili – he’s the guy kids should aspire to be like.”― Donovan Bailey
- “I want to allow as many Canadians to be successful and if we can use their athletic gifts to get them a free degree or a free diploma across the border then I guess I’m doing my job.”― Donovan Bailey
- “I’d like to be a more consistent starter. I’d like a smoother transition from crouching to running. I have to learn to relax during a race and how to breathe.”― Donovan Bailey
- “When I ran the anchor leg to a gold medal with my Canadian teammates Glenroy Gilbert, Bruny Surin, and Robert Esmie in the 4×100-metre relay at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, it was my responsibility to motivate the guys as unofficial captain and leader.”― Donovan Bailey
- “With success always comes criticism. I’ve been criticized every year of my life.”― Donovan Bailey
- “I think that every single person should play sports.”― Donovan Bailey
- “I’m a competitor.”― Donovan Bailey
- “You find sprinters testing other sprinters’ mental capability. But these are my good friends on the track. I don’t think we need to do that.”― Donovan Bailey
- “A team sport is not very good for me, because I can’t take losing.”― Donovan Bailey
- “In running, I can internalize that intensity. I can handle it because it’s me and I’m coming back in the next race. I’m always ready for the next race.”― Donovan Bailey
- “I was working in corporate Canada and I was doing all right. But I was burnt out… Long hours, a lot of clients. I just wanted to get away. Track and field was sort of like the elimination thing. I just wanted to go and do something. Exercise my brain and my body and kind of gravitate to that.”― Donovan Bailey
- “I’m Jamaican, man. I’m Jamaican first. You gotta understand that’s where I’m from. That’s home. That you can never take away from me. I’m a Jamaican-born Canadian sprinter.”― Donovan Bailey
- “I do a lot of media work, I’ve been investing and I’m involved with real estate. It’s totally different from what I had been doing but I find it challenging and fun. To be honest, I really don’t miss the track. I pretty well accomplished what I set out to do and it was time to move on.”― Donovan Bailey
- “I’ll have to say winning the Olympic gold in Atlanta is a crowning achievement, along with the gold in the relay in the same games.”― Donovan Bailey
- “I love music, and a lot of it. Jazz is probably on the top with guys like Miles Davis. But I even enjoy music from the ’60s and ’70s.”― Donovan Bailey
- “Our people historically have gone through a lot. That is our story. You can trace it all the way back to slavery. But it is incumbent upon everyone, no matter what field, to make it easier on the next generation.”― Donovan Bailey
- “My dad is a great cricket fan, and I used to play a bit back in Jamaica.”― Donovan Bailey
- “Basketball is probably one of the best workouts you can possibly have, because it’s cardiovascular and it’s plyometrics.”― Donovan Bailey
- “I’ve never been one that was on a diet, because I always ate well.”― Donovan Bailey
- “What I did at the start of each season, regardless if I was coming back as the champion, was run indoors and take forward steps from the first race.”― Donovan Bailey
- “I can’t criticize an athlete if they say they’re injured.”― Donovan Bailey
- “There are many commentators who have said the wrong thing before. That’s part of the business.”― Donovan Bailey
- “I’m on Twitter, Facebook. There’s a lot you can do with it, and it’s great to keep in touch. I try to throw a few things out on Twitter every day.”― Donovan Bailey
- “When I raced, I had great parents, even a greater coach and a nutritionist. I was never insecure.”― Donovan Bailey
- “I’VE ALWAYS BEEN SUCCESSFUL AT WHAT I DO.”― DONOVAN BAILEY
- “In sports, big names and celebrities drive events, and that’s what people gravitate to.”― Donovan Bailey
