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BORN : September 13, 1967
PLACE OF BIRTH : Dallas, Texas, United States
HOMETOWN : Dallas, Texas, United States
Michael Johnson brings championship form to Goodwill Games
TRACK: Embattled Michael Johnson to try to sweep 200- and 400- meter
dashes
(c) 1995 Copyright The News and Observer Publishing Co.
(c) 1995 Associated
Press
GOTEBORG, Sweden (Aug 4, 1995 - 16:18 EDT) -- Michael Johnson,
besieged by the media and the entertainment industry since becoming
track's No. 1 star, is ready to reinforce his stature and make history.
Johnson, who always has been fascinated in accomplishing things in
his sport that no one else has done, will try to become the first man to
sweep the 200-meter and 400-meter dashes at a major international meet
in the World Championships that begin Saturday at 45,000-seat Ullevi
Stadium.
Only Valerie Brisco-Hooks, the women's 200 and 400 gold medalist at
the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, has won both events at a championship
meet.
Johnson gave a preview of his potential by winning the 200 and 400 in
impressive fashion at the U.S. Championships at Sacramento, Calif., in
June, making him the first man this century to accomplish the feat.
He took the 400 in 43.66 seconds, the fourth-fastest time ever, and
could have run faster had he not showboated uncharacteristically at the
finish.
Then, he won the 200 in a wind-aided 19.84, beating his closest rival
by five meters, a substantial margin in such a short race.
He is unbeaten in 45 consecutive 400s dating back to Feb. 24, 1989,
when he was beaten at the U.S. Indoor Championships. And he is
undefeated in 13 straight 200s since losing at Lausanne, Switzerland,
last year.
"My objective at the World Championships is to be a double world
champion, not set a world record," Johnson said Friday. "I
will have many other opportunities to break a world record, but I have
only one chance to be a double world champion."
Being a double world champion would further enhance Johnson's already
growing notoriety and perhaps influence track's world governing body to
adjust the schedule for the 1996 Olympics to allow him to attempt a
similar double.
Since his sweep at the U.S. Championships, Johnson's rapidly
spreading fame has included a cover story in Newsweek magazine this
week, interviews with People magazine, Eurosport and Japanese
television, and offers to appear on "Entertainment Tonight,"
"Good Morning America," and the "Tonight" shows.
He has said that when athletes get into non-athletic publications and
on TV, "you're getting to be a star."
"But I haven't let the other things distract my training,"
he said.
Such a star could influence the International Amateur Athletic
Federation to rearrange its schedule for the Atlanta Games. At present,
the 400 will not be completed before the 200 begins, and Johnson has
said he will not double unless the two races are separated.
"I'm not trying to do anything here to relate to the Olympic
program," he said. "I'm just concentrating on trying to become
a double gold medalist. I don't know if that will affect the Olympic
Games schedule."
To further his cause, Johnson met recently with Juan Antonio
Samaranch, president of the International Olympic Committee. Johnson
said something came out of the meeting, but he would not be more
specific.
At the Championships, Johnson will run the opening heats of the 400
Saturday, the quarterfinals Sunday, the semifinals Monday and the final
Wednesday. The schedule for the 200 calls for the heats and
quarterfinals Thursday, the semifinals Friday and the final Sunday, Aug.
13.
"I'm ready for both," he said. "I'm ready to take on
the challenge.
"I'm glad I'm able to do the 200 and 400 without having to make
a decision about which event I'm going to run."
Johnson already has won both events at the World Championships, but
not in the same year. He took the 200 in 1991 at Tokyo in 20.01, winning
by .33 seconds, the widest margin at a World Championships or Olympic
final, And he captured the 400 in 1993 at Stuttgart, Germany, in a
career-best 43.65, winning by .48 seconds, the biggest margin in
Championship history.
Johnson, who failed to make the 200 final at the 1992 Barcelona Games
because of an attack of food poisoning, said that winning both events at
the same World Championships "is the next logical step to winning
both at the Olympics."
That is, if the IAAF will gave him what he considers a fair chance.
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