The Hindu : There's nobody in sight now: Johnson

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 15, 2004

Sport

Sport - Athletics

There's nobody in sight now: Johnson

By Our Special Correspondent

Former Olympic champion, Michael Johnson at a press conference in Mumbai.

MUMBAI, FEB. 14. Michael Johnson was a phenomenon in athletics. Like Carl Lewis in the 100m and Edwin Moses in the 400m hurdles he reigned supreme in the 200m and 400m flat runs. He holds the world records in the 400m, 43.18s at the 1999 World Championship at Seville, Spain, and the 200m, 19.32s at the Atlanta Olympics, 1996. He also holds the 400m indoor world record at 44.63s.

He is here in the city to take part in the `dream run' 7 km race of the Standard Chartered Mumbai International Marathon on Sunday. In the course of a Q & A session he said, "It's not my opinion alone, it's a fact. You don't hear about athletes who carry star power any more. The sport has not been marketed well over the years. When the sport was at its peak in the mid 80s and early 90s, people running the sport did not make the necessary changes to locate new markets and make changes to appeal to the society.''

The 37-year-old native of Dallas said he doesn't see his records being beaten soon but added that some day it would be. "There's nobody in sight right now. Every race is won by a different runner. Nobody is a stand out performer in the 400m and 200m. There is a lot of parody right now. The level of performances are down.

"I broke the 400m record which was set in 1979. So some records stay longer than others. The problem is that too much focus is given to breaking records. That's why breaking records in athletics are so special.''

Asked whether an athlete could trust his coach especially after the coach's involvement in the Dwain Chambers' case, he said, "there's no difference in an athlete trusting his coach and an individual trusting his banker. You make sure that the person has a good reputation. No one should be shocked and surprised by certain events. There might be a small group resorting to drugs. One has to be concerned if the numbers are enormous. Like law enforcing agencies, the governing body of athletics should be diligent and a step ahead.'' Johnson, who was ranked No. 1 in 200m and 400m for four years (1990-91 and 1994-95), said, "one of things that has probably been part of my career is that I have been most consistent over 10 or 11 years. I was proud of being No. 1 for four years. One of the key factors in 200m and 400m is basically understanding the race yourself. Every athlete has his own strategy. It's a question of how best one is going to run his race.

"I think technique is very important. A particular technique for an athlete may not necessarily work for another. My technique was considered to be very efficient. But was that the reason I was able to break records? Probably not. But it might have probably contributed to it. I don't think that if you make a man run with my technique that's going to guarantee that he's going to run at his very best,'' he added.

Talking about coaching he said, "one must be talented to be a coach. We spend most of our lives learning. I can probably tell a lot of things to an athlete. But you have to be a teacher to be able to do it effectively. I like a lot of mental conditioning of athletes. I enjoy that.''

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