1 Aug 1996: Michael Johnson of the USA celebrates after his winning the men's 200 meters in a new world record time of 19.32 seconds in the Centennial Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. Johnson was the first man ever to win Olympic gol (© Getty Images)
Double Olympic champion Michael Johnson issued a warning on Wednesday to sprinters who have dominated the 200m in recent years.
"I expect to be back at the top of my game this year," said Johnson, who, because of nagging leg problems, has been unable to push his 200m time below 20 seconds since 1996. That was the year he twice smashed the world record, the second time dropping it to a stunning 19.32 seconds.
"Certainly I can get back to the low 19s again," said Johnson via telephone from his training camp in Waco, Texas.
"I don't doubt that at all. "I wasn't able to sprint the way I needed to the last couple of years. But now I'm back in shape and confident."
Confident enough that he predicted a shake-up in the 200m world rankings, where last year, for the first time since 1989, Johnson failed to gain top-10 status.
"I hope to end the season ranked number one," he said, cognisant that World Champion Ato Boldon of Trinidad & Tobago and Namibian Olympic silver medallist Frankie Fredericks would again be pressing him. The hard-running Texan also signalled that his chase of Butch Reynolds's 1988 400-meter world record of 43.29 had not ended.
"The objective is to go out there and run faster than I ever have," said Johnson, who has led the world 400m rankings for an unparalleled eight consecutive years. "My PR (personal record) is a tenth of a second away from the world record. If I run faster than my PR, I'm probably under the world record."
Preparing for a pair of season-opening 200s in South Africa later this month, Johnson said he felt "on track" to be in the kind of shape he was in 1995 and 1996 when he claimed unprecedented victories in both the 200m and 400m at the Gothenburg World Championships and Atlanta Olympics. "Training has been excellent," he said.
The hamstring and Achilles problems, which slowed him in 1997 and wiped out his participation in last year's U.S. Championships, appear under control. "I haven't had any problems since the beginning of last June," said Johnson, who, after experiencing similar pain in '97, scored a pleasing World Championship repeat in the 400m at a time when many wondered whether his career might be in decline.
He will not decide until June whether the 200 or 400 will be his focus for this year's World Championships in Seville, but he will not do both.
"I'm sticking by what I have said previously," said Johnson. "I will not double again until Sydney. "It's just not necessary," he added. "There's nothing to be really gained from my perspective."
He will probably run the 200 at June's U.S. Championships in Eugene, Oregon, but said that would not be an indication of which event he would choose in Seville in August. "It's logical to do the 200 because I'll already be in the World Championships in the 400 as a wild card (as the defending champion)," he explained.
He hopes also to make the U.S. 4x400m relay team for Seville, where the Americans no doubt will make a run at the world record of 2:54.20 a Johnson-anchored U.S. team established at last year's Goodwill Games. His Grand Prix season will be a mixture of 200s and 400s.
"I'm going to make my decision as far as my schedule is concerned based on what's best for me to achieve my goals - winning the World Championships and ending the season ranked number one in both my events..."
Any talk of retirement is at least two years away, the 31-year-old Johnson said. "At this point my focus is on this year and next," he said.
"Then after Sydney I'll sit back and decide whether to hang it up or keep going."
Gene Cherry (Reuters) for the IAAF