By STEVE BUFFERY -- Toronto Sun
SYDNEY -- The inspirational leader of the Canadian men's 4x100-metre relay team lashed out yesterday at his high-profile teammates and Athletics Canada.
Ottawa's Glenroy Gilbert, a member of the relay squad that won Olympic gold in 1996 and two world championship titles, is steamed because of the attitude his teammates and the national federation have taken in regard to Canada's 4x100 team.
And he did not pull any punches in identifying Donovan Bailey and Bruny Surin as part of the problem.
"All year it's been Donovan and Bruny running in the 100 and we're not supposed to talk about the relay until the Olympic 100 is over," Gilbert said.
"Don't talk about the relay until there's a full moon. It's like nobody cares about the relay. It's all about me, me, me.
"Now the 100-metre event is over and we're still not supposed to talk about it," Gilbert added. "The relay starts on Friday morning and we still don't know if Donovan is running.
"If he runs, great. If he doesn't, let's get on with it. The decision (about who runs) should have been made a long time ago. We can't just wait until two days before the competition to find out if he can run or not.
"We need confirmation now. We need to know who's running now. We can't decide Friday morning, the day of the heats."
The relay squad has practised only a couple of times since the 100-metre event ended last weekend.
Bailey, who failed to qualify for the 100-metre semi-finals because of a viral infection, is still sick in a Sydney residence and has not confirmed whether he will be healthy enough to run. The other sprint standout, Surin, is almost certainly a scratch because of a hamstring injury.
"I haven't talked to Donovan since (the 100 heats). He's off living somewhere else away from the athletes village," Gilbert said.
In the meantime, the remaining members of the relay team -- Gilbert, Nicolas Macrozonaris, Pierre Browne and Brad McCuaig -- have to train as though they are the only members of the team.
The normally laid-back Gilbert, 31, said waiting around for the big stars to decide what to do is foolish and disrespectful to the four guys ready to go now.
"This is an event (in which we) won world championships and Olympic gold medals and it always has been put on the back burner," said Gilbert, usually the member of the relay squad who keeps everyone calm and focused. "It's very frustrating.
"Right now I'm pissed off. It's just so disrespectful.
"I mean, we're defending Olympic champions. We're not just going out there for a run," he said. "We have to get out there and defend. Even if we don't win, we have to challenge.
"If we run with everything we have and finish sixth or seventh, then I'll be happy. At least we gave it our all."
Gilbert said AC made a huge mistake in not sending a seventh and eighth member of the squad. With Surin and Bailey likely scratched, there are only four sprinters left to attempt to get the Canadian team through two heats and a final.
"If anybody gets hurt, we're finished," Gilbert said. "Athletics Canada should have sent (sprinters) Trevino Betty and O'Brien Gibbons down here. But they're sitting at home.
"It's all sad. It's very sad."
