Michael Johnson (sprinter)
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Michael Duane Johnson (born September 13, 1967) is an American retired sprinter who won four Olympic gold medals and eight World Championships gold medals in the span of his career.[2] He held the world and Olympic records in the 200 m and 400 m, as well as the world record in the indoor 400 m. He also once held the world's best time in the 300 m. Johnson is generally considered one of the greatest and most consistent sprinters in the history of track and field.[3][4]
Johnson is the only male athlete to win both the
Johnson's distinctive stiff upright running position and very short steps defied the conventional wisdom that a high knee lift was necessary for maximum speed. As of 2012, Johnson held 13 of the top 100 times for the 200 meters (having broken 20 seconds 23 times) and 27 of the top 100 times for the 400 meters. Of those, he holds 14 of the top 25 times for the 400 meters. He broke 44 seconds for the 400 meters 22 times, more than twice as many times as any other athlete.
Johnson held the
Since 2001, he has worked for the BBC, appearing as a pundit at multiple events. He has been a part of the BBC's Olympics athletics coverage since Athens 2004.[7][unreliable source?]
Career
1991–1995
In 1991 at the World Championships in Tokyo, Johnson earned his first world title by winning the 200 m race by the unusual margin of victory of 0.33 seconds over Frankie Fredericks.
Two weeks before the 1992 Summer Olympics began, Johnson and his agent both contracted food poisoning at a restaurant in Spain.[8] Johnson lost both weight and strength. He was the favorite to win the 200 m going into the Olympics, but he could do no better than sixth in his semifinal heat, and failed to reach the 200 m final by 0.16 seconds. Nevertheless, he was able to race as a member of the 4 × 400 m relay team, which won a gold medal and set a new world-record time of 2:55.74. Johnson ran his leg in a time of 44.73.
He won the 1993 U.S. title in the 400 m, and followed it with world titles in both the 400 m and 4 × 400 m relay. His 42.91 second split time in the 4 × 400 m relay remains the fastest 400 meters in history.[2] At the 1995 World Championships in Gothenburg, Johnson won his first 200 m and 400 m "double". No elite-level male track athlete had accomplished this in a major meet in the 20th century.[8] At the end he made it a "triple" by adding another title in the 4 × 400 m relay.
1996 Atlanta Olympics
In June 1996, Johnson was 28 when he ran the 200-m in 19.66 seconds at the U.S. Olympic Trials, breaking Pietro Mennea's record of 19.72 seconds that had stood for nearly 17 years. With that performance he qualified to run at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and prepared to attempt to win both the 200 meters and 400 meters events, a feat never before achieved by a male athlete.[8] (Two women have won Olympic gold medals in both races in the same year: Valerie Brisco-Hooks in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, and Marie-José Pérec, in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.)
Johnson entered the Olympic finals donning a custom-designed pair of golden-colored Nike racing spikes made with Zytel, causing him to be nicknamed "The Man With the Golden Shoes". Sources differ on the exact weight of these shoes; the manufacturer of the spikes claims they weighed 3 ounces (85 g) each,[9] while other sources state each shoe weighed about 94 grams (3.3 oz).[10] The left shoe was a US size 10.5 while the right shoe was a US size 11, to account for Johnson's longer right foot.[9]
On July 29, Johnson easily captured the 400 m Olympic title with an Olympic record time of 43.49 seconds, 0.92 seconds ahead of silver medalist Roger Black of Great Britain. At the 200 m final on August 1, Johnson ran the opening 100 meters in 10.12 seconds and finished the race in a world-record time of 19.32 seconds, breaking by more than three tenths of a second the previous record he had set in the U.S. Olympic Trials, on the same track one month earlier—the largest improvement ever on a 200 m world record. Some commentators compared the performance to Bob Beamon's record-shattering long jump at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.[2] During the race, Johnson strained a muscle in his leg, which prevented him from winning his third gold medal of the Olympics in the 4 × 400 m relay as Team USA went on to win the gold even without him.[11]
After the 1996 season ended, Johnson received the
Rivalry with Donovan Bailey
After the end of the
1997–1999
After recovering from the injury, Johnson was able to compete for his third 400 m world title. The
At the 1998 Goodwill Games in New York City, Johnson anchored the U.S. 4 × 400 m relay team with Jerome Young, Antonio Pettigrew, and Tyree Washington to a win and set a world record of 2:54.20. Pettigrew has since admitted doping from 1997, while Young was caught doping in 1999.[15] The world record was annulled by the IAAF in August 2008, and reverted to the time of 2:54:29 Johnson helped set in the 1993 World Championships.[16]
Johnson was plagued by injury in 1999, and his following season was troubled with two injury scares that limited him to just four 400 m races before the
2000 Sydney Olympics
After qualifying for the
On July 18, 2004, the
Achievements
Johnson has run 200 m in under 19.80 seconds six times, and he has run the distance in less than 20 seconds twenty-three times. He holds nine of the top 50 200 m performances of all time.[21] Johnson has run twenty-two 400 m races in under 44 seconds; he holds twenty-two of the top 50 and four of the top ten 400 m performances of all time.[21] Over the course of his career, he twice set the world record in the 200 m, three times set the world record as part of the 4 × 400 m relay team, twice set the indoor 400 m world record, set the outdoor 400 m world record once, and set the 300 m mark once.
Season's bests
Year | 100 meters | 200 meters | 400 meters |
---|---|---|---|
1986 | — | 21.30 | — |
1987 | — | 20.41 | 46.29 |
1988 | — | 20.07 | 45.23 |
1989 | 10.29 | 20.05 | 46.49 |
1990 | — | 19.85 | 44.21 |
1991 | 10.23 | 19.88 | 44.17 |
1992 | — | 19.79 | 43.98 |
1993 | 10.12 | 20.06 | 43.65 |
1994 | 10.09 | 19.94 | 43.90 |
1995 | — | 19.79 | 43.39 |
1996 | 10.12+ | 19.32 | 43.44 |
1997 | — | 20.05 | 43.75 |
1998 | — | 20.31 | 43.68 |
1999 | — | 19.93 | 43.18 |
2000 | — | 19.71 | 43.68 |
After athletics
Johnson was elected to the United States Track and Field Hall of Fame in 2004, where his 200 m performance at the 1996 Olympics was named the greatest track and field moment of the last 25 years.[2]
Since retiring from competitive track, Johnson currently works as a television commentator, often for the
Johnson guest-starred in the 2002 film, The Master of Disguise, as one of the disguises Fabbrizio (James Brolin) takes on to borrow the U.S. Constitution, as part of a scheme by Devlin Bowman (Brent Spiner) to steal the world's greatest treasures. Incidentally, one of the guards in that scene happens to be played by another actor named Michael Johnson.
In 2007 Johnson opened Michael Johnson Performance, at McKinney, Texas, a training facility for youth athletes aged 9 to 18 and professional athletes in all sports.[25] The company works with Olympic teams and football clubs and has operations around the world. Michael Johnson Performance currently works with Arsenal, assisting in the development of young players in their academy.[26]
In June 2008, Johnson voluntarily returned the 4 × 400 m relay gold medal he earned in the 2000 Olympics after
Johnson appeared as a contestant on NBC's 9th season of
As part of the build-up to the
Johnson currently lives in Marin County, California, with his second wife Armine Shamiryan, a chef, and his son Sebastian, born in 2000 during his first marriage to entertainment reporter Kerry D'Oyen.[2][29]
Johnson was one of the Olympic torch bearers in the relay in the run up to the
In the summer of 2018, Johnson was co-captain and a coach for Godspeed, a flag football team made of former professional American football players that participated in the American Flag Football League (AFFL). The team were crowned the champions of participating pro teams but lost in the final match to the amateur champion team.[31]
In September 2018, Johnson suffered a stroke that affected his left side. By November, he stated he was almost "back to normal", and attributed his successful recovery to the "Olympic mindset".[32][33] In connection with his 54th birthday in 2021, he states that he has fully recovered.[34]
References
- ^ Former World's Best
- ^ a b Fish, Mike (June 20, 1996). "Johnson Can't Be Caught – Despite Strange Style". Deseret News.
- ^ a b c d e "Michael Johnson profile". Baylor University. 2008. Archived from the original on September 13, 2008. Retrieved June 5, 2008.
- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Michael Johnson". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
- ^ Michael Johnson. "Track & Field Hosts Michael Johnson Classic". Baylor Bears. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
- ^ "Michael Johnson". USA Track & Field.org. January 24, 2001. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
- ^ Abiola, Rahaman (October 3, 2019). "33-year-old mum Allyson Felix wins 12th gold medal to break Usain Bolt's record". Legit.ng. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
- ^ Gray, Sarra (July 30, 2021). "Michael Johnson net worth: Olympic champion and BBC commentator has earned millions". Daily Express. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
- ^ a b c Schwartz, Larry. "Johnson doubled the difficulty". SportsCentury. ESPN. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
- ^ a b Christie, James (April 8, 1997). "Bailey's Shoes Go High-Tech: Spikes to be ready for Skydome sprint". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on March 17, 2008. Retrieved June 5, 2008.
- ^ Berggren, Svante (November 2004). "Sole structure – European Patent EP 0964625". FreePatentsOnline.com. Retrieved June 4, 2008.
- ^ "Atlanta 1996 - Feat". AFP News. April 19, 2012. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
- ^ In American English, the term "athlete" is a generic term for a competitive sportsperson, and is not specific to the sport known as "athletics" in most of the English-speaking world and "track and field" in the U.S.
- ^ Giddens, David (August 10, 2017). "Meet me in the middle: The weird Donovan Bailey vs. Michael Johnson 150m race". CBC Sports. p. 1.
- ^ "The World's Fastest Man". July 8, 2004. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e Wilson, Stephen (August 2, 2008). "IOC strips gold from 2000 US relay team". ESPN. Associated Press. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
- ^ "400m relay world record amended". BBC Sport. August 12, 2008. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
- ^ Patrick, Dick (July 18, 2004). "IAAF votes to take away 2000 U.S. relay gold". USA Today. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
- ^ Yomi Omogbeja (July 22, 2005). "CAS denies Nigeria Sydney relay gold". Athletics Africa. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
- Seattle Times. June 4, 2008. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
- ^ "Relay champ Pettigrew to give back Olympic gold", Associated Press, June 3, 2008[dead link]
- ^ a b Larsson, Peter (June 1, 2008). "All-time men's best 200m". Track and Field all time Performances. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
- ^ "Michael Johnson". July 15, 2002. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
- ^ "Michael Johnson joins the BBC Sport team for The XVII Commonwealth Games". BBC. June 18, 2002. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
- ^ "Wayde van Niekerk wins 400m final in 43.03, shattering world record". ESPN. August 14, 2016. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
- ^ "Michael Johnson Performance Center". Youth.michaeljohnsonperformance.com. Archived from the original on January 2, 2011. Retrieved April 2, 2011.
- ^ Whaling, James (April 21, 2015). "Arsenal working with former Olympic athlete Michael Johnson to improve young players' fitness". The Mirror. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
- United States Olympic Committee. June 3, 2008. Archived from the originalon March 2, 2014. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
- ^ Clayton, Andy (July 5, 2012). "U.S. Olympic track legend Michael Johnson: Descendants of West African slaves have 'superior athletic gene'". New York Daily News. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
- ^ de Bertodano, Helena (July 9, 2012). "Michael Johnson: 'For eight years I was a five-time gold medallist. Then it was four-time. It's not the same'". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on January 12, 2022. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
- ^ "BBC News – Olympic torch: Michael Johnson takes flame to Stonehenge". BBC Sport. BBC News. July 12, 2012. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
- ^ Godspeed
- ^ Johnson, Michael (November 19, 2018). "Johnson "really lucky" after suffering a stroke". BBC News. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
- ^ "Michael Johnson nearly 'back to normal' but reveals anger at suffering stroke". The Guardian. November 19, 2018. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
- ISSN 0174-4909. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
External links
- Michael Johnson at World Athletics
- Michael Johnson at www.USATF.org
- Michael Johnson at the Team USA Hall of Fame (archive July 20, 2023)
- Michael Johnson at Olympedia
- Michael Johnson at Olympics.com
- Michael Johnson at Olympic.org at the Wayback Machine (archived February 22, 2006)