media_artricles :: 2013

Mc Donald Bailey remembered as loving, caring icon

THE late Emmanuel McDonald Bailey, former Olympic bronze medallist and 100m world record holder, was yesterday remembered as an icon in Trinidad and Tobago sporting history and a caring individual by his family at his funeral ceremony held at the All Saints Anglican Church, Marli Street, Port-of-Spain.

McDonald Bailey, who passed away last Sunday at age 92, earned a bronze medal at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki in the Men’s 100m while competing for Great Britain and also jointly held the world record between 1951-56. Present to pay their respect were President Anthony Carmona, Minister of Sport Anil Roberts, Brian Lewis, president of the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee; Deryck Murray, president of Queen’s Park Cricket Club and a few other members of the sport fraternity.

In her eulogy, Zo-Marie Tanker, granddaughter of McDonald Bailey, jokingly revealed the various nicknames her grandfather had including “Mac”, “Macocious”, “Grand Mac” and “The Black Flash” which people in Britain called him in his heyday.

She recounted her childhood memories and remembered him giving her tips ahead of her races at St Andrew’s Primary School Sports Day which came to good use.

“We took it seriously. I had a little flair for running so he came to train me at the Savannah. He would say ‘Zo focus, do not look at anybody else, be focussed on the finish line and speed up at the end.” I am happy that I didn’t disappoint him when he came to see me run. I won quite a few races, I got my fair share of medals at the Sports Day,” she revealed.

Tanker noted, though, that her grandfather was keen to see a booklet he wrote called Athletic Milestones produced in a higher quality and be made accessible to young people.

“He was very clear about his training philosophy - building blocks before starting blocks. Can’t just go on a track and start to run,” she declared.

Meanwhile, Minister Roberts, speaking after the funeral, promised to do his part in ensuring the booklet is redone on a grander scale.

“We’re going on his granddaughter?s request to reproduce his booklet in a glossy format and provide it to every school and put it in every library across Trinidad and Tobago,” he declared. Roberts lamented though the modest turnout at the funeral for such a sporting icon and urged nationals to get to know some of the great achievers of the past.

“I would have liked to see a bigger crowd here today. It seems Trinidad and Tobago, in our culture, we don’t understand what it means to be a fan, a fanatic, or a patriot. We must celebrate the great sacrifices people like McDonald Bailey made,” he stated.

The Minister pointed out that each citizen can log on to the National Sporting Archive (www.sportarchivestt.com) and get the bios and in- depth history of all our athletes to familiarise themselves with our sporting heroes. He also fondly remembered his interactions with the former world record holder during his days as a media practitioner.

“What I most remember is when I was doing Spalk on Gayelle (TV) I had the privilege to do a two-part series with McDonald Bailey. Before and after he would call me and we would just sit and have discussions about sports science, biomechanics, physiology, training and building blocks. The brain that he had and understanding of what it takes to prepare a great athlete and ensure their career was long was tremendous. It showed his prowess was not genetic...he was a doctor of coaching,”

Lewis, the TTOC president, also hailed the contribution made by the Chaconia Gold Medal recipient, saying “He had a tremendous impact from the sense he was Trinbagonian. He was the first Trinbagonian to medal in the sprint (events at the Olympics).” Lewis also felt that more could be done to show appreciation for former athletes. “We need to treat our heroes (well) and those who have achieved in sport especially (those like) McDonald Bailey and Rodney Wilkes (silver medallist at 1948 Olympics)...If we in sport don’t (cherish our own) we can’t expect others to. McDonal Bailey made a contributon. He is one of those who came back and made a contribution to society,” he stated emphatically.

Dr Basil Ince, a former 200m and 400m runner for this country, spoke as well of the immense contribution made to society by McDonald Bailey and commented on how highly regarded he was during his peak.

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