Other names: JOHNSON, Michael Duane

Born: 13 September 1967

Birthplace: Dallas (United States)

Nationality: United States

Sport: Athletics

ATTENDANCE AT THE OLYMPIC GAMES

Barcelona 1992

Atlanta 1996

Sydney 2000

AWARDS

Olympic medals:

Gold: 5

Other results:

World Championships

Gold: 9 (91, 93, 95, 97, 99)

The Only Man to Win the 200 and 400 Metres

The first man to be ranked number one in the world at both 200m and 400m, Michael Johnson began dominating both events in 1990. Yet it was not until 1996 that he won an individual medal at the Olympics. Johnson was the overwhelming favourite to win the 200m at the 1992 Olympics, but he contracted food poisoning twelve days before the Opening Ceremony.

He did not recover quickly and was eliminated in the semifinals. He did win a gold medal as a member of the U.S. 4x400m relay team. By the time of the 1996 Olympics, Johnson had won 54 straight finals at 400m and had not been beaten at that distance in seven years. He had no trouble in the Olympic final, winning by ten metres, the largest margin of victory in the event in 100 years.

Three nights later, Johnson raced in the 200m final. At the U.S. Olympic trials, he had run a 19.66 to break the 17-year-old world record. In Atlanta, he ran a phenomenal 19.32 to defeat Frank Fredericks of Namibia by four metres. In 1999, Johnson broke the 11-year-old 400m world record with a time of 43.18 seconds.

He went to the Sydney Olympics in 2000 having won the 400m at the last four world championships. He won again in the Olympic final to become the first man to win the 400m twice. Finally, he anchored the U.S. 4x400m relay team to victory to bring his career gold medal total to five.