Angela Bailey (28 February 1962 – 31 July 2021) was a Canadian

track and field athlete Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping even ...

. She is the Canadian record holder in the

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contest ...

with her personal best of 10.98 seconds in 1987. She also holds the

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

indoor national record with 23.32 seconds in 1984. She won an Olympic silver medal in the 4×100 metres relay in 1984, three relay silver medals at the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 British Empire Game ...

, and a bronze medal in the 60 metres at the 1987 World Indoor Championships.

Career

Bailey was born in

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed ...

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

, England. She first came to international attention at the Commonwealth Games in Edmonton in 1978. In 1980, she won gold in both

and

at the first Pan American Junior Track and Field Championships in Sudbury, defeating the favoured American sprinter

Michele Glover Michele (), is an Italian male given name, akin to the English male name Michael. Michele (pronounced ), is also an English female given name that is derived from the French Michèle. It is a variant spelling of the more common (and identically ...

decisively in both distances. She was selected for the 1980 Olympic team but Canada boycotted the Moscow event. Bailey won all her races on a tour of New Zealand in late 1981, which included three gold medals at the

Pacific Conference Games The Pacific Conference Games were a quadrennial athletics competition, held between 1969 and 1985 and contested by Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand and the United States. Each of the five nations hosted an edition of the competition before i ...

in the 100m, 200m and 4 x 100m relay. She placed fourth in the

100 meters The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contest ...

and seventh in the

at the 1982 Commonwealth Games, and was again fourth in the

in 1986. She won a

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, e ...

for the 4×100 m relay at the

1978 Commonwealth Games The 1978 Commonwealth Games were held in Edmonton, Alberta from 3 to 12 August 1978, two years after the 1976 Summer Olympics were held in Montreal, Quebec. They were boycotted by Nigeria, in protest at New Zealand's sporting contacts with apar ...

, and did so again in both the

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C., Un ...

and

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal enter ...

games. At the

1983 World Championships The 1st 1983 World Championships in Athletics were run under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations and were held at the Olympic Stadium in Helsinki, Finland between 7 and 14 August 1983. Summary The overall me ...

, Bailey placed fifth in the 100 metres, seventh in the

and fifth in the 4×100 m relay. At the

1984 Los Angeles Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

, she came in sixth in the 100 metres and won a

in the 4×100 metres relay with

Marita Payne Marita Payne-Wiggins (born October 7, 1960) is a Canadian former track and field athlete who competed in two consecutive Summer Olympics. She is the co- Canadian record holder in the 400 metres, along with Jillian Richardson, and previously held ...

Angella Taylor Angella Taylor-Issajenko, CM (née Taylor; born September 28, 1958) is a Canadian coach and former sprinter. She won an Olympic silver medal in the 4 × 100 metres relay in Los Angeles 1984 The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of t ...

and

France Gareau France Gareau (born April 15, 1967) is a Canadian athlete, who competed in the sprint events. Gareau was born in Verner, Ontario. Gareau competed for Canada in the 1984 Summer Olympics held in Los Angeles, United States in the 10 ...

. Originally fourth in the 60 metres final at the 1987 World Indoor Championships, Bailey was promoted to the bronze medal in 1989, due to the disqualification of Canadian team-mate

Angella Issajenko Angella Taylor-Issajenko, CM (née Taylor; born September 28, 1958) is a Canadian coach and former sprinter. She won an Olympic silver medal in the 4 × 100 metres relay in Los Angeles 1984. At the Commonwealth Games she won seven medals, includ ...

after the

Dubin Inquiry The Dubin inquiry was a Canadian government Commission of Inquiry into the Use of Drugs and Banned Practices Intended to Increase Athletic Performance held in 1989 after the Ben Johnson doping scandal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. The commission was ...

. She set the Canadian 100 metres record with 10.98 secs on 6 July 1987 in Budapest, and went on to finish seventh in the 100 metres final at the 1987 World Championships in Rome. She was a quarter-finalist in the

at the

1988 Seoul Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

Death

Diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer in the fall of 2020, Bailey died of cancer in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

on 31 July 2021, aged 59. A statement from the family read, in part, that Bailey "persevered with amazing strength and resilience as she battled cancer alongside her five year struggle with mental illness."

National titles

Canadian Track and Field Championships The Canadian Track and Field Championships is an annual outdoor track and field competition organized by Athletics Canada, which serves as the Canadian national championships for the sport. The most recent edition of the event took place in Montrea ...

**100 metres: 1985, 1990 **200 metres: 1985

International competitions

Note: At the 1987 World Indoor Championships, Bailey originally finished fourth. She was promoted to the bronze medal position in 1989 after her Canadian teammate

, who had won the silver medal, was disqualified after admitting long term drug use at the Dubin Inquiry.
Note: At the 1981 World Cup, Bailey was representing the Americas continent.

References

External links