Saturday, August 28, 1999

Brits, U.S. gunning for Canucks

By STEVE BUFFERY -- Toronto Sun
                     
SEVILLE, Spain -- And now, back to As the Team Turns, brought
to you by baton broadcasting. 
                    
The latest on the soap opera that is the Canadian men's 4x100-metre
relay team, has longtime anchor Donovan Bailey grudgingly accepting
his new role as leadoff man for the semi-finals today, after yielding the
anchor to the new stud, Bruny Surin. 
                    
In a meeting with the sprinters Thursday, Surin -- who ran an
awesome 9.84 in the 100-metre final last Sunday at the world track
and field championships -- decided that, as the fastest man on the
team, he wanted the glamorous anchor position, bumping Bailey to
leadoff. 
                    
That went over like a ton of bricks with the other sprinters and
coaches, who were hoping Surin would accept his normal third-leg
position, with Bailey anchoring. But the squad practised yesterday with
the new order -- Bailey to Glenroy Gilbert to Trevino Betty to Surin --
and Bailey's reaction was a less than resounding: "It went okay." 
"Well ... things are cool," Bailey added, his enthusiasm in check. "I'm
just going out there to run." 
                    
He better run quickly. In fact, all four Canadians better run well and
pass the baton crisply if they have any hope of defending the world
title. Canada has won the past two world championships and the 1996
Olympics, with the traditional order in place for the final three legs:
Gilbert to Surin to Bailey. 
                    
Bailey said he is more than ready to go and promised a good start for
both the semis and final, just as he did at last month's Pan American Games. 
                    
"I've never, ever run a weak leg in a relay," he said, a suggestion of
defiance in his voice. "Never, ever." 
                    
Bailey pulled out of the 100-metre event here as he has yet to round
back to form after Achilles surgery last September. 
                    
"This is the longest week I've ever spent," he said. "If my coach (Dan
Pfaff) hadn't been here, I wouldn't have come in until (yesterday). It's
really tough to just sit around and train and wait. 
                    
"I've definitely been a little antsy." 
                    
The American relay team is also a bit antsy, having won the first four
titles since the inception of the world championships in 1983 before
losing the past two to Canada -- they messed up the exchange each
time and did not make it to the final. 
                    
No team has as much pure speed as the Americans, but it always has
been a matter of the Red, White and Bumbling getting the baton
around cleanly. But the Americans are serious this time, having
organized a week-long relay camp in Monaco leading to the worlds.
                   
The team likely will consist of Jon Drummond, Tim Montgomery,
Brian Lewis and Maurice Greene, in that order. And they're confident,
even cocky. 
                    
"The most important thing is to get the stick around and I believe ... no
matter where I (get it), we're going to win," said Greene, who
yesterday became the first man in the history of the worlds to win the
200-metre title (19.90) after capturing the 100. 
                    
Greene, Montgomery and Lewis all made the semis in the 100 final
last Sunday. Tim Harden even finished fifth in the 100 (10.02) but
likely will be replaced for the relay because of Drummond's great
speed out of the blocks. The only worry for the Americans is, by the
time Greene does get the baton in tomorrow's final, he'll have already
run 10 heats in the brutal Seville heat (100s, 200s and relay). 
                    
The other main contenders for the gold, the British, finished third at
the 1997 worlds and have won the past two European Cups, the
World Cup and European title. 
                    
The British qualified three sprinters for the semis in the 100 and have
been working together as a seven-man unit for two years. One of
them, Dwain Chambers, 21, finished third behind Greene and Surin in
the 100-metre final in 9.97. 
                    
Add in Brazil, which beat the Surin-less Canadians at the Pan Ams
and everyone will be gunning for Canada. 
                    
"That's neither here nor there," Bailey said. "We just have to deal with
it. Usually we go in there and say we're going to win. It's a little
different now. Why? The change of order." 
                    
The Canadians will run in the same semi as the U.S. today but should
make it into tomorrow's final.