Goodwill Games are Johnson’s Last Stage

Michael Johnson raced to the finish line faster than anyone for 200 meters. His hands were spread skyward and his face was aghast at what he accomplished.

Appropriately wearing golden shoes to match his 1996 Olympic medal, Johnson finished in 19.32 seconds, smashing his world record of 19.66.

It was his signature achievement in a brilliant 11-year professional career that ends Friday at the Goodwill Games.

That race, before a capacity crowd of about 80,000 screaming fans in Atlanta’s Olympic Stadium, made Johnson the first man to complete a sweep of the 200 and 400-meter titles at the same games, and solidified his status as the greatest long sprinter in history.

Marion Jones, winner of five Olympic medals last year, including three golds, still is astounded by Johnson’s performance.

“I’ve been watching the replays,” Jones said. “And I go, ‘Oh, my God. Oh, my God. I can’t believe it. I can’t believe it.”’

Johnson also is the only man to win the 200 and 400 meters at the World Championships, in 1995. He’s the only man to be ranked No. 1 in the world in both events, in 1990, 1991, 1994, 1995 and 1996.

He’s also the only man to successfully defend an Olympic 400 title, and the only one to run below 20 seconds in the 200 and below 44 seconds in the 400. In the 200, he has run 23 sub-20s, including three of the top four times, and in the 400, he has 23 sub-44s.

“The most important thing about my career is its consistency and longevity,” Johnson said. “Without them, the other things wouldn’t have been possible. I’ve been running 19 seconds or in the low 20s, and 43 seconds or in the low 44s, throughout my career. I can almost count the number of losses on my hands.”

In the 200, he’s lost 15 times, mostly to two-time Olympic silver medalist Frankie Fredericks of Namibia. In the 400, he’s lost only twice, in 1997 while still not fully recovered from his much-hyped, ill-fated 150-meter match race against Donovan Bailey of Canada, and in 1998, beaten by Mark Richardson and Ewan Thomas, both of Britain, again after another injury.

“I killed them three days later,” Johnson said.

While his leg still was ailing in 1997, Johnson managed to win his second straight world 400 title.

“That was a race I was very proud of, winning the world championships on one leg,” he said. “A lot of people didn’t think I could do it. I did it on pure guts.”

Johnson had reason to take pride in many races, including his world-record 200 in Atlanta, his world-record 400 of 43.18 at the 1999 World Championships in Seville, Spain, and his gold medal-winning 400 at the Sydney Games in his final individual race.

“He’s been a coach’s dream,” said Clyde Hart, who coached Johnson throughout his pro career and during his four years at Baylor. “He’s been very dedicated, very focused. I never had to worry about him academically. I never had to worry about getting midnight calls from the police about him.

“And in 15 years, he never challenged a workout. After all these years, he’s become part of the family. The number of hours we’ve spent together, I’m going to miss that.”

So will Johnson.

“It’s been a lot of fun,” he said. “I’ve been fortunate to have had a great career. I will miss competing.”

Johnson’s last race will be as anchor of a 1,600-meter relay, completing the competitive aspect of his 15-city Golden Victory Lap Tour, which began April 28 at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia, his final appearance in the United States. He has limited his races this year to relays, and will end the tour with a clinic in Yokohama, Japan, on Sept. 15.

His low-key schedule this season has allowed Johnson to mingle with youngsters, improve community programs in each city he has visited and show his appreciation to the fans who supported him over the years.

For example, in Philadelphia, before running in the 1,600 relay, he led several athletes to a youth event at Children’s Hospital. He spent the afternoon sharing his personal and professional experiences in hopes of inspiring the patients.

When Johnson was young, he played soccer, football, basketball and tennis.

“They were fun, because I liked competing,” he said. “I enjoyed individual sports the most. When I started running, I fell in love with it. I was good at other sports, but I was best at track.

“When I won a 100-yard race at the Jesse Owens series in Dallas -- I was about 8 or 10 years old -- up through junior high, I narrowed my sports to football and track. In high school, it was just track.”

Johnson’s illustrious career includes nothing but gold at the big meets -- five Olympic golds, nine World Championship golds and five Goodwill Games golds.

Now, he’s ready to leave, and his rivals will miss him, even if they were unable to beat him.

“He’s a great athlete. The opportunity to run a relay with Mike -- my first one -- has always been a dream of mine. It’s sad to see him go,” said 400-meter runner Leonard Byrd, who ran with Johnson at the Penn Relays.

Jerome Young, who ran with Johnson on the U.S. 1,600-meter relay team that set the world record in 1998, said, “He’s done a lot for the sport. Hopefully, I can follow in his footsteps. They’re real big footsteps.”

Johnson turns 34 on Sept. 13, and it might appear that he’s retiring prematurely. He doesn’t agree.

“I’ve always wanted to stop while I was ahead,” he said. “To finish my career the way I started it, to finish winning gold medals, to finish on top and as a champion.”