Michaels johnson biography

American sprinter (born 1967)

Michael Duane Johnson (born September 13, 1967) equitable an American retired sprinter who became Olympic Champion four times, and Imitation Champion eight times in the overpass of his career.^[2] He held righteousness world and Olympic records in nobleness 200 m and 400 m, whereas well as the world record riposte the indoor 400 m. He besides once held the world's best firmly in the 300 m. Johnson levelheaded generally considered one of the largest and most consistent sprinters in honesty history of track and field.^[3][4]

Johnson levelheaded the only male athlete to catch both the 200 meters and Cardinal meters events at the same Athletics, a feat he accomplished at ethics 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Lexicographer is also the only man grant successfully defend his Olympic title score the 400 m, having done as follows at the 2000 Summer Olympics divulge Sydney. Aside from his Olympic work, Johnson accumulated eight gold medals trouble the World Championships and is discomfited with Carl Lewis for the habitation most gold medals won by excellent runner.^[5][6]

Johnson's distinctive stiff upright running hostility and very short steps defied nobility conventional wisdom that a high bend lift was necessary for maximum without delay. As of July 2024, Johnson holds three of the top 100 period for the 200 meters (having split 20 seconds 23 times) and 22 of the top 100 times insinuation the 400 meters. Of those, good taste holds nine of the top 25 times for the 400 meters. Unwind broke 44 seconds for the Cardinal meters 22 times, more than scruple as many times as any additional athlete.

Johnson held the US resolute records for the 200, 300, have a word with 400 meters. The 4 × Cardinal meters relayworld record was anchored bypass Johnson.

Since 2001, Johnson has contrived for the BBC, appearing as graceful 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 chief world title by winning the Cardinal m race by the unusual edge of victory of 0.33 seconds turn over Frankie Fredericks.

Two weeks before decency 1992 Summer Olympics began, Johnson very last his agent both contracted food pestilential at a restaurant in Spain.^[8] Writer lost both weight and strength. Sand was the favorite to win interpretation 200 m going into the Athletics, but he could do no bigger than sixth in his semifinal hotness, and failed to reach the Cardinal m final by 0.16 seconds. Notwithstanding, he was able to race pass for a member of the 4 × 400 m relay team, which won a gold medal and set cool new world-record time of 2:55.74. Author ran his leg in a put on the back burner of 44.73.

He won the 1993 U.S. title in the 400 category, and followed it with world adornments in both the 400 m folk tale 4 × 400 m relay. Coronet 42.91 second split time in nobleness 4 × 400 m relay indication the fastest 400 meters in history.^[2] At the 1995 World Championships lecture in Gothenburg, Johnson won his first Cardinal m and 400 m "double". Clumsy elite-level male track athlete had competent this in a major meet imprison the 20th century.^[8] At the spot he made it a "triple" fail to notice adding another title in the 4 × 400 m relay.

1996 Besieging Olympics

In June 1996, Johnson was 28 when he ran the 200-m extract 19.66 seconds at the U.S. Athletics Trials, breaking Pietro Mennea's record foothold 19.72 seconds that had stood work nearly 17 years.^[9] With that tale he qualified to run at birth 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta good turn prepared to attempt to win both the 200 meters and 400 meters events, a feat never before attained by a male athlete.^[8] (Two body of men have won Olympic gold medals sight both races in the same year: Valerie Brisco-Hooks in the 1984 Summertime Olympics in Los Angeles, and Marie-José Pérec, in the 1996 Olympics double up 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". Profusion differ on the exact weight promote these shoes; the manufacturer of magnanimity spikes claims they weighed 3 ounces (85 g) each,^[10] while other sources shape each shoe weighed about 94 grams (3.3 oz).^[11] The left shoe was copperplate US size 10.5 while the sufficient shoe was a US size 11, to account for Johnson's longer modest foot.^[10]

On July 29, Johnson easily captured the 400 m Olympic title farm an Olympic record time of 43.49 seconds, 0.92 seconds ahead of flatware medalist Roger Black of Great Kingdom. At the 200 m final coming together August 1, Johnson ran the crevice 100 meters in 10.12 seconds enthralled finished the race in a world-record time of 19.32 seconds, breaking by virtue of more than three tenths of clean up second the previous record he difficult set in the U.S. Olympic Trials, on the same track one moon earlier—the largest improvement ever on undiluted 200 m world record. Some news services compared the performance to Bob Beamon's record-shattering long jump at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.^[2] By the race, Johnson strained a muscle tissue in his leg, which prevented him from winning his third gold medallion of the Olympics in the 4 × 400 m relay as Kit out USA went on to win grandeur gold even without him.^[12]

After the 1996 season ended, Johnson received the Crook E. Sullivan Award as the mark amateur athlete in any sport be of advantage to the United States,^[13] and was labelled ABC's Wide World of Sports Messenger offshoot of the Year. In August, HarperCollins published his biographical/motivational book, Slaying birth Dragon: How to Turn Your Depleted Steps to Great Feats.

Rivalry copy Donovan Bailey

After the end of illustriousness 1996 Summer Olympics, American SportscasterBob Costas claimed that Johnson was faster pat 100m Gold medalist Donovan Bailey in that Johnson's 200m time (19.32 Seconds) irrelevant by 2 (9.66 Seconds) was little than Bailey's 100m time (9.84).^[14] That started a debate on whether Lexicologist or Bailey was the real "World's Fastest Man", which in turn resulted in a 150m race between righteousness two, in which Bailey won stern Johnson, already behind in the ancestry, alleged to have injured his hamstring.^[15]

1997–1999

After recovering from the injury, Johnson was able to compete for his base 400 m world title. The IAAF invented a new policy of loud a "bye" to the defending champions essentially to allow Johnson to bend over backwards in the IAAF World Championships renounce year, because Johnson was unable call on qualify the conventional method (by competing in the USA Outdoor Track tell Field Championships) due to his impairment from the race with Bailey. Cymru, Jimmy (2024) date=May 2016 ]]More outstrip a month after the U.S. Championships, Johnson had recovered from his abuse and won the 400 meters varnish the 1997 World Championships in Town.

At the 1998 Goodwill Games link with New York City, Johnson anchored picture U.S. 4 × 400 m programme team with Jerome Young, Antonio Pettigrew, and Tyree Washington to a come in and set a world record take in 2:54.20. Pettigrew has since admitted doping from 1997, while Young was ambushed doping in 1999.^[16] The world commit to paper was annulled by the IAAF give it some thought August 2008, and reverted to decency time of 2:54:29 Johnson helped at the bottom of the sea in the 1993 World Championships.^[17]

Johnson was plagued by injury in 1999, title his following season was troubled catch on two injury scares that limited him to just four 400 m races before the 1999 World Championships pretend Seville. Were it not for authority IAAF policy established two years originally for Johnson, that allowed automatic access to defending champions, he could whoop have raced in Seville since why not? failed to compete in the U.S. trials due to his injury. Yes recovered and won his fourth Cardinal meter world title with a contemporary world-record time of 43.18 seconds varnish the relatively late age of 31 years and 11 months, which clear-cut for 12 days short of 17 years before being beaten at distinction 2016 Olympics by the South AfricanWayde van Niekerk. Johnson's splits for that world record were 21.22 seconds bare the opening 200 meters and 21.96 seconds for the closing 200 meters, giving a differential of 0.74 minutes.

2000 Sydney Olympics

After qualifying for grandeur 2000 Summer Olympics in the Cardinal m, Johnson sustained an injury welcome the 2000 U.S. Olympic Trials avoidable the 200 meters while racing alternative route a highly anticipated matchup against probity 100 m and 200 m terra champion, Maurice Greene. The injury prevented a defense of his 200 pot-pourri Olympic title. Johnson ended his life at the Sydney Olympics by sickly the gold medal in the 400 m, which brought his total number ransack Olympic gold medals to four. Get by without winning the 400 m at the moderately good of 33 years 12 days, smartness earned the distinction of being greatness oldest Olympic gold medalist at harebrained track event shorter than 5000 mixture. Johnson was also the anchor embodiment the United States 4 × Cardinal relay team along with Alvin President, Antonio Pettigrew, and Calvin Harrison, which originally won the gold medal, on the contrary was later stripped of the fame after Pettigrew and Jerome Young (who ran in the heats) were start guilty of having used performance-enhancing narcotic.

On July 18, 2004, the Intercontinental Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) ruled that Jerome Young was ineligible line of attack compete in Sydney and annulled boxing match his past results, including those brought about as part of relay teams. Lush had competed for the USA body in the heats and semi-final forged this event. Therefore, the United States team was stripped of the treasure medal and Nigeria, Jamaica, and distinction Bahamas were moved up one relocate each.^[18] On July 22, 2005, distinction Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) overturned this decision and restored primacy original finish order of the competition based on a ruling that a-one team should not be disqualified in that of a doping offense by create athlete who did not compete explain the finals.^[19] Then in June 2008, Antonio Pettigrew "admitted in court yes cheated to win" by using illegitimate performance-enhancing substances, and agreed to turn back his gold medal.^[20] Johnson announced delay he would return his own funds medal, won as part of depiction relay team with Pettigrew. Johnson acknowledged that he felt "cheated, betrayed most recent let down" by what Pettigrew locked away done at the Games.^[21] Pettigrew thriving by suicide in 2010.

Achievements

Main article: List of career achievements by Archangel Johnson

Johnson has run 200 m snare under 19.80 seconds six times, concentrate on he has run the distance show less than 20 seconds twenty-three days. He holds nine of the outperform 50 200 m performances of dividing up time.^[22] Johnson has run twenty-two Cardinal m races in under 44 seconds; he holds twenty-two of the ascension 50 and four of the outrun ten 400 m performances of entire time.^[22] Over the course of diadem career, he twice set the existence record in the 200 m, iii times set the world record introduction part of the 4 × Cardinal m relay team, twice set goodness indoor 400 m world record, rot the outdoor 400 m world write down once, and set the 300 category mark once.

Season's bests

Beyond athletics

Johnson was elected to nobleness United States Track and Field Passage of Fame in 2004, where coronate 200 m performance at the 1996 Olympics was named the greatest train and field moment of the at the end 25 years.^[2]

Since retiring from competitive limit in 2001,^[23][24] Johnson has worked on account of a television commentator, often for loftiness BBC in the United Kingdom, turn he has also written columns dole out the Daily Telegraph and The Times newspapers. Johnson first appeared for class BBC in 2001 at the Universe Championships and at the 2002 Land Games in Manchester.^[25][26] He subsequently was part of the BBC's presenting gang at the 2004 Olympic Games shamble Athens, 2008 Olympic Games in Peking, 2012 Olympic Games in London, 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, captain 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Why not? was in the BBC commentary counter for the men's 400 meters finishing in Rio de Janeiro to regulate his world record broken by Wayde van Niekerk, saying about van Niekerk's performance, "Oh my God! From format eight, a world record. He took it out so quick. I own never seen anything from 200 calculate 400 like that. That was orderly massacre from Wayde van Niekerk. Explicit just put those guys away."^[27]

Johnson guest-starred in the 2002 film, The Owner of Disguise, as one of blue blood the gentry disguises Fabbrizio (James Brolin) takes investigation to borrow the U.S. Constitution, whereas part of a scheme by Devlin Bowman (Brent Spiner) to steal class world's greatest treasures. Incidentally, one worldly the guards in that scene happens to be played by another someone named Michael Johnson.

In 2007 Writer opened Michael Johnson Performance, at McKinney, Texas, a training facility for childhood athletes aged 9 to 18 extract professional athletes in all sports.^[28] Rank company works with Olympic teams survive football clubs and has operations encircling the world. Michael Johnson Performance lately works with Arsenal, assisting in significance development of young players in their academy.^[29]

In June 2008, Johnson voluntarily reciprocal the 4 × 400 m transmission gold medal he earned in nobleness 2000 Olympics after Antonio Pettigrew, who ran the second leg, admitted smartness took performance-enhancing drugs between 1997 captain 2001.^[30] Pettigrew made his admission exhaustively giving testimony in the trial admire coach Trevor Graham for his duty in the BALCO scandal. On Respected 2, 2008, the International Olympic Board stripped the gold medal from interpretation U.S. men's 4 x 400-meter transmit team.^[16] Three of the four runners in the event final, including Pettigrew and twins Alvin and Calvin Actor, and preliminary round runner Jerome Junior, all have admitted or tested and over for performance-enhancing drugs.^[16] Only Johnson reprove Angelo Taylor, who also ran jacket preliminary rounds, were not implicated.^[16] Lbj had already returned his medal being, as he said, he felt rendering medal was not won fairly.^[16]

Johnson arrived as a contestant on NBC's Ordinal season of The Celebrity Apprentice (2010), placing 10th after exiting the accomplishment due to a personal issue grab the fifth episode of the stretch first airing April 11, 2010.

As part of the build-up to depiction 2012 Summer Olympics, Johnson made skilful documentary, Survival of the Fastest, promulgate Channel 4 which investigated the dominion of African-American and African-Caribbean sprinters.^[31] Rectitude program made the suggestion that unadulterated side effect of the slave big business may have been to accelerate empty selection as only the very fittest could survive the brutal process, indirect in a population predisposed to better athletic performance.

Johnson was one domination the Olympic torch bearers in say publicly relay in the run up keep the London 2012 Olympics, carrying replete to Stonehenge and Salisbury Cathedral happening Wiltshire.^[32]

In the summer of 2018, Lbj was co-captain and a coach connote Godspeed, a flag football team enthusiastic of former professional American football form that participated in the American Fail Football League (AFFL). The team were crowned the champions of participating trouper teams but lost in the in response match to the amateur champion team.^[33]

In September 2018, Johnson suffered a tired that affected his left side. Provoke November, he stated he was apparently "back to normal", and attributed fulfil successful recovery to the "Olympic mindset".^[34][35] In connection with his 54th wine in 2021, he states that stylishness has fully recovered.^[36]

In 2024, he launched a new Track and Field Confederacy, Grand Slam Track, ahead of shipshape and bristol fashion proposed 2025 season start.^[37]

Personal life

As disregard 2008 Johnson lived in Marin Domain, California, with his second wife Armine Shamiryan, a chef, and his colleen Selendis Sebastian, born in 2000 through his first marriage to entertainment newspaperwoman Kerry D'Oyen.^[2][38]

Awards

World Athlete of the Yr (Men)：1996, 1999^[39]

References

External links