McDonald Bailey


Emmanuel McDonald Bailey was a British and Trinidadian athlete, who was born in Williamsville, Trinidad and Tobago and competed at two Olympic Games.

Biography

In March 1946, Bailey won a bronze medal in the 1946 Central American and Caribbean Games. He followed this by becoming both the British 100 yards champion and the British 220 yards champion after winning the British AAA Championships titles at the 1946 AAA Championships.
Bailey repeated his AAA success at both the 1947 AAA Championships before he represented the Great Britain team at the 1948 Olympic Games in London, where he finished sixth and last in the final.
Bailey recorded the impressive feat of winning the double of 100 and 220 yards at every AAA Championship from 1949 to 1953 bringing his title count to 14 senior sprint titles.
In between the title wins Bailey went to another Olympic Games, representing the Great Britain team at the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki, where he won the bronze medal.
He jointly held the 100 m world record at 10.2 seconds between 1951 and 1956 and won the sprint double seven times at the AAA Championships.
In the 1948/9 season he worked on fitness and speed with Queen's Park Rangers F.C. who won their first ever promotion that season, from Football League 3rd Division South to Football League 2nd Division.
In 1953 he joined rugby League club Leigh, but he only played in one friendly match for them.
in 1977 Bailey was awarded Trinidad and Tobago's Chaconia Medal.

Competition record