"Does it seem every track performance?" - Michael Johnson questions the overhyped praise of track and field contests

Olympic & Paralympic Games, Paris 2024 and Beyond - Laureus World Sports Awards Madrid 2024 - Source: Getty
Michael Johnson (Image via: Getty)

Former American track athlete Michael Johnson recently shared his thoughts on overhyping track performances. Johnson is a four-time Olympic gold medalist for the United States and is still the national record holder in the 400m distance with a run time of 43.18 seconds that he registered during the 1999 World Championships in Spain.

Ever since Johnson retired from the sport, he has been quite active on his social media handles, sharing his thoughts on notable events on the track circuit. He has also used this platform to point out the flaws that exists in the current spectrum of the sport.

He took to his X (formerly Twitter) handle to recently raise questions over the recent overhyping of the track performances. He wrote:

"Is it me or does it seem every track performance is marked with🔥? Are they all really🔥?"

Besides being a successful athlete, Michael Johnson has also tried his hands in the realm of commentary and also launched his new track league.


Michael Johnson opened up about the possibility of extending his Grand Slam Track League to the UK

Johnson doing his preparations before the 400m sprint event at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta (Image via: Getty Images)
Johnson doing his preparations before the 400m sprint event at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta (Image via: Getty Images)

Michael Johnson recently shared his thoughts on hosting a Grand Slam Track League event in the United Kingdom. His new track event, which will start in April this year, will revolve around four cities: Kingston, Philadelphia, Miami, and Los Angeles.

In an interview with the BBC, Johnson shared that UK Athletics hasn't rejected the Grand Slams Track League. But the stakeholders of the league had planned to solely focus on the United States for the first edition. Johnson also assured that there is a possibility of hosting an event in the UK after the expansion of the franchise in the future. He said:

"UK Athletics didn't decline to have a Grand Slam Track event. We engaged with 10 interested cities around the globe and we decided for year one that we wanted to focus our energy on the US. We will continue to engage with interested cities. As we look to expand and rotate, that [a UK event] certainly will be a possibility."

During the interview, Michael Johnson also remarked that he can save track only and not the field events. Owing to this ideology, Johnson's GST also doesn't have any field events, for which he has faced severe criticism from athletes such as Tara Davis-Woodhall.

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Edited by Tushar Bahl
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