Canadas sprint team aims for glory days

Twelve years have passed since Donovan Bailey won the Atlanta Olympic 100m gold medal in world record time, then anchored Canadas sprint relay team to victory. Those were glory days indeed.

Now for the first time in ages Canadians have reason for optimism within the sprint program.

The man at the helm is none other than Glenroy Gilbert, who ran the crucial back straight leg on that gold medal winning team. Based in Ottawa, Gilbert has battled a host of problems, not least of which is the prevailing me-first attitude that often characterize high strung sprinters.

"You have to remember they are individuals, first of all, pursuing the Olympics A+ standards and that is something we have to respect," the 39-year-old Gilbert explains. "But also its important for them to realize the relay is their best hope to actually get close to the podium at the Olympic Games.

"We dont have a Canadian sprinter running under 10 seconds who can say I have a chance of winning a medal at the Olympic Games."

Bobbled the baton

A year ago, Anson Henry of Pickering, Ont., advanced to the IAAF world championship 100m semi-final while Edmontons Brian Barnett ran 20.31 seconds and made it into the 200m semi-final. The relay team, meanwhile, bobbled a baton exchange and finished last in their first round heat.

Both Henry, who trains in California with coach Dan Pfaff, formerly Donovan Baileys personal coach, and Barnett are showing good early-season form. Barnett, 21, has run a personal best 100m of 10.28 as well as the Olympic A+ standard of 20.48 in his specialty. In addition, two younger sprinters are approaching world class level.

Jared Connaughton of Charlottetown. P.E.I., a graduate of the University of Texas at Arlington, has turned in the nations fastest 100m time of the season, 10.15 seconds, just .02 seconds shy of the Olympic A+ standard. He has also achieved the Olympic A+ standard in the 200m, recording a time of 20.35 seconds. And Justyn Warner, of Markham Ont., has run 10.23 seconds for Texas Christian University. All figure in Gilberts plans.

"The way I viewed it, coming into this year, is if everyone improved a little bit the team could go to the final and potentially finish in the top six at the Olympic Games," says the coach. "You have to be in the final to be a player. The focus is to have guys ready to go from a fitness standpoint and obviously from a skill development standpoint.

The jitters

"Of course the whole element of competing at the Olympic Games is something you cant really coach and thats where the individual events help. It gives the guys an opportunity to get out on the track. It allows them to get rid of the jitters and then come back in the relay and be a little more steady and execute a little bit."

Gilbert who ran 10.10 at his best understands better than most that relay racing is not always about putting the fastest four sprinters together. The U.S. team has had a history of missed baton passes at major championships while a French foursome of largely second-tier sprinters broke the world record in 1990 with a time of 37.79. The current world record is 37.40, jointly shared by two U.S. national teams.

To that end Gilbert has brought a pool of sprinters together at training camps in Baton Rouge, La., and most recently in Ottawa. They are typically ten days long and he seeks to instill the team unity necessary for success in the event. Twelve athletes turned up in Ottawa.

The deadline for qualification is July 16 with the top 16 ranked teams eligible for entry into the Olympics. Thats based on the average of their two fastest times of the season.

"Right now we are ranked around 10th in the world," Gilbert says of the team of Barnett, Connaughton, Henry and Hank Palmer that ran 39.25 in Baton Rouge on April 19.

"Thats one of the reasons we are going over to Prague right after nationals, so we can solidify our position in the top 16 before the deadline.

Heads in the clouds

"I am very excited but I keep everything in perspective. The team will only be as good as the athletes allow themselves to be. If they get their heads in the clouds about wanting to own the individual event we are going to struggle as a team. They have to buy into the idea that we stand chance to get very close to the podium if we can come together as a team."

Gilbert will take the relay team to a meet in Prague July 9 and a week later it will run again in Lucerne, Switzerland. Other national teams are likely to turn up at both of these competitions in search of fast times. If Canada qualifies, anything can happen.

The unity factor is crucial.

"It's a tough sell," Gilbert declares, "but I think athletes are starting to understand it."