Sprinting champion Angela Bailey's brother takes comfort in her incredible legacy

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Donald Bailey says he takes comfort in the fact that his sister accomplished more in her short life than most people ever hope to. 

Legendary sprinter Angela Bailey, an Olympic silver medallist and Canadian record-holder, died this week from lung cancer at the age of 59.

Bailey's 1987 100-metre sprint time of 10.98 seconds still stands today as the Canadian women's record. She was also part of the women's silver medal winning 4x100 metres relay team at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles.

But her brother Donald says that later in her life, her greatest passion was uplifting the next generation of young athletes. He spoke to As It Happens guest host Katie Simpson about his sister's life and legacy. Here is part of their conversation.

What do you remember from 1984 when your sister won the silver medal at the Olympics?

She was so excited and happy. She felt a sense of relief. And, you know, she had to show everybody her medal. [Laughs]. It was just a great time for her. 

After your sister's passing, your family revealed that she had been dealing with challenges related to her mental health. Why did you feel it was important to share that?

Because, I think it's such a stigma right now. Nobody knew she was in a struggle because she's such a fighter. She felt like she could handle it all and … she tried to overcome so many barriers, so many things that were challenging her, and she continued to fight.

I believe, sometimes, I think you should share that fight to release it ... and share it, and let people know that kind of fighting, her mental illness, was her part of being a champion. 

In 1989, Angela testified at the Dubin Inquiry, which heard hundreds of hours of testimony about the widespread use of performance-enhancing drugs amongst athletes.

[She said:] "There has to be more stringent drug testing. It has to be completely independent of Sports Canada, of the Canadian Track and Field Association. I think if you want to compete in a sport in this country that you should have to sign a contract saying that: 'These are the guidelines. I abide by these guidelines. These are the rules and I will follow them.' And once you do that and you are subjected to random testing, if they want to come and knock on the door at 12 o'clock at night, fine."

Did she ever talk to you about why it was important for her to add her voice to this?

She believes in fair competition. She did not believe in drugs. She'd never used them. And when she was on the track, she wanted everyone to be on an equal platform. And when she realized that it was not like that, I think she felt that it was not fair for her to be competing at that level and then coming up short, knowing what was going on. But she had to lend her voice and expressed how she felt.

In marking her memory, people have described Angela as a role model, as a legend and as a hero. Did she ever see herself that way?

No. I don't believe she did see herself that way.

Why not?

I think Andrea just saw herself as a person that just went out and did the best that she could do.

She didn't have a huge ego, so it wasn't something that she particularly saw.

When you think about your sister, is there anything that brings you comfort at this time right now?

What brings me comfort is the fact that she accomplished so much. She was a person that when she put her mind to something, she would get it done. She became a lawyer. She went to the Olympics. She also was partaking in giving back to youth.

And I think those things, knowing that she accomplished a lot that most people do not accomplish in their lifetime, as her life was cut short, it brings me comfort.

What do you hope her legacy will be?

I hope her legacy will be that you don't have to take shortcuts to get to … an elite status. That elite status is short lived, because [there's] always going to be question marks behind the hard work you put behind it. It takes away from all the hard work, the days you got up early in the morning, when you were sacrificing [while] everybody else is going out, partying and doing their own thing. It takes away from that.

Before Angela passed, youth was at the forefront of her joy. She loved to give back. She did some personal coaching. And so she started a training program ... and it was geared to give kids — all kids — the foundation, the fundamentals of speed and sprinting, how to do it properly.

She realized that there's lots of kids out there that don't have the opportunity to go into a track club or organized sports. So she was willing and she was ... going to the community and sharing what she knew and giving them some guidelines and some advice.

Is working with young kids and helping them develop into athletes, is that what really brought her joy?

The light in her face when she can share what she knew, and she saw those kids embracing it, was something that would give her so much joy. 

Written by Sheena Goodyear with files from The Associated Press. Interview produced by Kate Cornick. Q&A has been edited for length and clarity.

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.