Olympic heroes No 7: Michael Johnson

Published on 21/06/2012 00:00

A BOUT of food poisoning just before the start of the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 wrecked Michael Johnson’s bid for glory in the 200 metres, for which he had been a hot favourite.

His consolation was a gold medal as a member of the USA’s 4x400m relay team which set a new world record.

Four years later, in Atlanta, Johnson more than made up for his personal disappointment when he became the only male athlete in history to win the 200m and 400m at the same Olympics.

In the 400m final, he finished a full second ahead of Britain’s Roger Black. In the 200m, he shaved three-hundredths of a second off his own newly created world record.

His Olympic swansong was at Sydney in 2000 when Johnson became the only man ever to successfully defend the 400m title.