Editor’s Note: This story was published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Aug. 2, 1996, as Michael Johnson set a world record in the process of winning a gold medal in the 200-meter. The one-word headline: WHOOOOOOSH! This is a daily take of the events that transpired on the 25th anniversary of the Games in Atlanta.
Frame this race. Frame it, then place it in a museum of finest art. Michael Johnson was the picture of perfection Thursday night, dazzling a crowd of 82,884 in world-record speed.
The man who had openly campaigned for the chance to write history at the Atlanta Games produced a double dose of it. Four nights after his Olympic-record time in the 400 meters, Johnson clocked an astonishing time of 19.32 seconds in the 200.
Frame it.
Johnson, a 28-year-old Texan, shattered the 19.66 mark he established here during the Olympic Trials in June.
He walked off the Olympic stadium track as the first man to win both the 200 and 400 at the same Olympics. In fact, he is the first man to win both races in the Olympics, period.
“The world record is a bonus,” Johnson said, beaming. “The most important thing was making history. A lot of people held a world record. I held one before I came here. But nobody else can say they made history, the first to win the 200 and 400.”
Credit: AJC file
Credit: AJC file
Nor lived with as much pre-race buildup.
More than a year ago, Johnson and his camp began lobbying the international track federation to change the Olympic schedule so he might attempt the 200/400 double. Finally, they gave in. And Thursday, in TV prime time, Johnson delivered one of the all-time show stoppers.
Actually stumbling — ever so slightly — a stride or two out of the blocks, Johnson powered off the turn with a lead over Namibia’s Frankie Fredericks and then blistered the final 100 meters in 9.20 seconds.
“I told myself before I got in the blocks, ‘This is the one I want.’” said Johnson, who failed to make it out of the 200 semifinals four years ago because of food poisoning. “The one I wanted in Barcelona.”
But 19.32?
A tweet from 2016 included a clipping of this story and accompanying photo
A delirious Johnson fell to his knees and kissed the track after crossing the finish line. Fredericks offered a warm embrace. Best summing up the night, Cuba’s Ivan Garcia bent at the waist and bowed in in the winner’s direction.
For Johnson, the load was of his shoulders. There had been comparisons of his running style with Jesse Owens; the legendary Olympian’s wife, Ruth, had sent a congratulatory letter after the Olympic trials. On the biggest stage of his life, he had to deliver.
“I’d never been under this much pressure in my entire life,” he said, relieved.
But this wasn’t just the Michael Johnson show. Far from it:
- Dan O’Brien earned decathlon gold. Finally. Like Johnson, a disappointment in 1992, O’Brien didn’t even each the Games then.
- Even before Johnson set foot on the red track, Marie-Jose Persec had something he didn’t — a successful 200/400 double. The 28-year-old sprinter, who trains in Los Angeles, found another gear late in the 200 to join Valerie Brisco (1984) as the only women to claim gold in both sprints.
Also on Day 14: U.S. women score soccer gold | Day 16: Dream achieved | Day 11: Carl Lewis, Michael Johnson soar into Olympic history
Credit: AJC ePaper
Credit: AJC ePaper
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