Bruny Surin, Canadian record co-holder for the men’s 100 metre sprint, joined Global’s Laura Casella and Kim Sullivan to guest host Global News Morning Friday.
“It was a lot of work, a lot of dedication, it took me a lot of hours of practice and sacrifice to make it,” he said.
“Today, I’m looking at my life in general and it’s like a dream.”
WATCH VIDEO: Olympic medalist Bruny Surin on life as an athlete
Surin says one of his greatest accomplishments was winning Olympic gold in the men’s 4×100 metre race at the Atlanta 1996 Summer Olympic Games.
The team also included Donovan Bailey (who set the World Record of 9.84 seconds in the individual men’s 100 metre sprint during those same Olympiads), Glenroy Gilbert and Robert Esmie.
Surin would go on to tie Bailey’s record in a silver medal effort during the 1999 World Championships in Seville, Spain.
A lingering hamstring injury ended Surin’s Olympic career during the men’s 100 metre semi-finals at the Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games.
“I watched the video, I walked in my lane until the finish line,” Surin recalled.
“It was my last Olympics. I could not run and there was nothing I could have done more. Life goes on, it was tough.”
In his retirement from sprinting, Surin has established a mentorship program to encourage young athletes to pursue their dreams.
READ MORE: Charmaine Crooks, Bruny Surin lead Athletics Canada’s Hall of Fame class
The Bruny Surin Foundation holds conferences at schools across Quebec, providing bursaries to student athletes.
The foundation also holds a training camp at the end of April, inviting high performance athletes between the ages of 15 and 21 to get together to train.
Surin says he hopes to never stop inspiring young athletes.
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