Johnson Staggers 400 Field : Track and field: In second-fastest time ever, he beats second-place Reynolds by seven meters.

Midway through the 400-meter final in track and field’s World Championships, Butch Reynolds unhappily discovered what his competitors must have been thinking when he set the world record in the event seven years ago. That was the point Wednesday at which Michael Johnson, running in Lane 5, let everyone else know that they were racing for second place by astonishingly overcoming the stagger on Reynolds in Lane 6.

Reynolds muttered an obscenity, then asked, “How did he get here so quick?” After recovering from the initial shock, he vowed to make a race of it for as long as he could. “I’ll go with him for 50 meters,” he said.

Later, after recalling that conversation with himself in the post-race news conference, Reynolds shook his head in wonderment.

“I went with him for 10,” he said.

When Johnson came off the final turn, heading for the finish line, he had a nine- to 10-meter lead over the rest of world’s finest quarter-milers. He eventually won over second-place Reynolds by seven meters, the largest margin of victory in this event in a major championship. Not since Secretariat in the Belmont Stakes has a champion been so magnificent.

Still, Johnson grimaced when he saw his time upon crossing the finish line. It was 43.39 seconds, the second-fastest ever. He was hoping for better than 43.29, the fastest ever.

“I was a little disappointed at first,” said Johnson, 27, of Dallas, who practically had time to kneel and offer his ritual prayer before Reynolds crossed the finish line in 44.22 and third-place Greg Haughton of Jamaica arrived in 44.56. “I thought this was a very good opportunity today to break the world record. It was so close. I felt, ‘If I’d just taken out the first 50 a little harder,’ or, ‘If I’d kicked a little earlier.’

“But once I reflected on it, considering that I had run three rounds before the final, I’m pretty pleased with it. No, I’m extremely pleased with it. Eventually, I’ll break the world record, maybe even later in the summer when I’m more fresh going into my race.”

The second-most impressive run on the fifth day of competition in the World Championships was produced by an unlikely source, shotputter John Godina of UCLA, who was so exhilarated by his first toss, 70 feet 5 1/4 inches, that he started off on a wild 25-meter sprint. Considering that Godina is 6 feet 4 and 280 pounds, the crowd of 35,234 could have confused the movement inside Ullevi Stadium with an earthquake.

His celebration was not premature as the put held up for the championship, ahead of the second-place effort of 68-8 by Mika Halvari of Finland. Randy Barnes was third at 66-11 1/2, giving the United States its fourth medal of the day. That matched its total for the previous four days.

“I had a flash that it would [win] when I threw it,” Godina said of his opening throw. “But I felt like throwing up the rest of the competition, hoping no one would beat it.”

Asked if he should be considered the favorite for the 1996 Olympic Games at Atlanta, Godina said: “Anything can happen between now and then. I could be in a car crash.”

Acknowledging Godina’s prize for winning the world championship, Barnes interrupted: “Mercedes [-Benz’s] have air bags.”

It was a long day for Godina, who, nine hours before he started the shotput competition, qualified for Friday’s discus final with a throw of 202 feet 5 inches. Johnson can empathize because he must return to the track 15 hours after crossing the finish line in the 400 to begin qualifying in the 200. There are two rounds today, followed by Friday’s semifinals and final.

He could almost qualify for the second round of the 200 by running as he did during the first half of the 400 final, when he was unofficially timed in 21.26. His four 100s were unofficially timed in 11.13, 10.13, 10.45 and 11.68. Considering that third split, remarkable in that it covers a curve, it is no wonder that Johnson’s normally fluid running style seemed to be somewhat strained at the end.

“He’s very fast, and he’s also very strong,” said Haughton, the NCAA champion from George Mason. “His last 150 meters is like the first 150 for me.”

Asked if Johnson is unbeatable, Reynolds said: “Without a doubt, he’s in a class of his own right now.”

It should have been a proud moment for Reynolds, who was suspended for two years after failing a drug test, fought the ban all the way to the Supreme Court before running out of appeals and now, at 31, is returning to the forefront among quarter-milers.

But he declined congratulations, saying: “I don’t like getting beat like that. That’s a situation I’m dealing with.”

So is everyone else in the event.

Johnson, who has five of the 10 fastest times ever in the 400, has not been beaten over a quarter-mile since Feb. 24, 1989, a period covering 46 races. He has won 12 in a row in the 200 since July 6, 1994.

If he wins the 200 here, he will be the first man to double successfully in that race and the 400 in the World Championships. Earlier this summer, he became the first man to win both races in the U.S. Championships during this century.

“I came in here with an objective to win a gold medal at 400 and 200,” he said. “As far as I’m concerned, this is the halfway point. I feel good. I feel confident. The biggest obstacle is going to be getting up early enough to get out there in the morning.”