Trail blazers. BBC Assembly about black athletes. - Script

Trail blazers
BBC Assembly about black athletes.

Ask the assembly for a show of hands. Who has heard of Usain Bolt? Who knows what he has achieved? At the Beijing Olympics in 2008 he ran 100m in 9.69 seconds.

Then ask who has heard of McDonald Bailey. If you do know who he is, can you tell me what he is known for?

McDonald Bailey grew up in Trinidad and Tobago and came to Britain to fight in the RAF during World War II. After the war, he stayed on, and became an athletics star - he was known as 'the black flash'.

McDonald Bailey was a sprinter and one of the first black athletes to win an Olympic medal for Great Britain. He jointly held the 100m world record at 10.2 seconds between 1951 and 1956.

Even though he could be described as the Usain Bolt of his day very few people have heard of him. He is still alive today (2011) - he is more than ninety years old and lives in Trinidad.

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldclass/15382631