"When I step on the track, it’s war," says Donovan Bailey, whose breathtaking burst of acceleration at the Atlanta Olympics took him to 27.1 mph (43.6 kph), earned him a new world record and the title of fastest man on earth. The war on the track, and the war of words off it, are dramatically presented in this Life & Times portrait of Canada’s greatest sprinter. Olympic Warrior takes viewers behind the scenes, contrasting the sprinter’s brash public persona with an easy-going family man who describes himself as "a shy, gentle guy with a big heart." The candid documentary follows Bailey on a Grey Cup weekend in Winnipeg, to his surprise 31st birthday party and home to Oakville. Olympic Warrior chronicles one of the most tumultuous years of Bailey’s life from a near fatal car accident in 1997 to a career-threatening Achilles tendon injury in 1998. The documentary presents the only images of Bailey’s remarkable rehabilitation, which takes him from crutches to the track in ten weeks. We also watch Bailey compete in Europe and North America in 1998, suffering a stinging loss to American arch-rival Maurice Greene in New York, only to demolish him a week later in Paris. Bailey shows remarkable resilience and reveals a complex personality struggling for balance between a quiet home life and the highly aggressive world of power sprinting. As the countdown begins to the year 2000 Games in Sydney, Australia, Bailey is undaunted by the idea of winning gold again. To find out more about this athlete, visit his official web site at Donovan Bailey.com.
