Great moments in Canadian (and junior high) track and field
Bruny Surin knew before the rest of us did. As soon as the Canadian sprinter transferred the baton and the heart of a nation safely into the left hand of teammate Donovan Bailey, Surin raised his arms in victory. Roughly nine seconds later, his celebration was confirmed. The Canadian men's 4x100 relay team had won the gold medal at the Olympic Games in Atlanta. "Oh, if you're Canadian, you have to love Saturday nights in Georgia!" said CBC commentator Don Wittman as Bailey crossed the finish line. Today is the 24th anniversary of that consummate team accomplishment. It was later punctuated by a bit of Canadiana trope, as Bailey said sorry to his teammates—Surin, Glenroy Gilbert and Robert Esmie—for easing up at the finish line. Not easing up would have meant a world record and not just the gold medal. It was the second most amazing track victory I had ever seen. The most thrilling, of course, was Mario Nemec's win in the 1100 metre race at the zone...