Michael Johnson expresses anticipation over the 400m hurdles lineup at Monaco Diamond League 2024 ft. Karsten Warholm, Rai Benjamin

The upcoming 400m hurdles battle at the Monaco Diamond League is drawing a lot of interest, and Michael Johnson is one of the intrigued. The American track legend recently disclosed that he is eagerly anticipating the race and the results it brings.

Taking place only a handful of weeks before the Paris Olympics, the 400m hurdles race at the Stade Louis II will pit the event's three best racers against each other - Karsten Warholm, Rai Benjamin, and Alison Dos Santos. The trio are the favorites to make up the podium at the Games.

Warholm is the reigning World and Olympic champion, and currently holds the world record for the event with the 45.94 he clocked at the Tokyo Olympics. He was also the World Champion in 2017 and 2019.

Meanwhile, America's Rai Benjamin has almost always ended up as second-best behind Warholm. The 26-year-old is the second-fastest man on the 400mH all-time list, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics silver-medalist, and the second-place finisher at the 2019 World Championships behind his Norwegian counterpart. He also won a silver and bronze at the 2022 and 2023 Championships.

Last but not least, Alison Dos Santos is the third-fastest 400m hurdler of all time, the 2020 Tokyo bronze medalist, and the 2022 World Champion.

Speaking on this match-up ahead of the Paris Olympics, Karsten Warholm guaranteed an exciting race for fans at the Monaco Diamond League, telling the press:

“When we look back at this era of the 400m hurdles, we’re going to be grateful that we had this level of nerve and competition. And now we’re all here, ready to race in Monaco tomorrow…The three of us tend to run quite fast, so it’s going to be a race – guaranteed.”

Michael Johnson reacted by showing his enthusiasm for the race, writing on X:

“Can’t wait for this one tomorrow!”

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Michael Johnson gauges the

possibility of multiple Americans on the men’s 100m podium in Paris

Michael Johnson weighs the possibility of multiple Americans winning medals in the 100m at the Paris Olympics

Meanwhile, another sprinting event that is currently drawing the attention of Michael Johnson is the men's 100m sprint. With the arrival of Jamaican Kishane Thompson on the scene, the field for the event is suddenly looking wider than it has for some time now, an opinion the American expressed on X.

“Men’s 100m suddenly much more exciting than it was just a few weeks ago!’

To this, a fan asked the former Olympic champion if the 100m podium could see multiple Americans on it, to which Michael Johnson replied in the positive, writing,

“Yes. US has 2 World Champs: Noah and Fred. Kenny has deep championship experience at 200 and running well at 100. Jamaica could also. Kishane running like a beast right now but don’t sleep on Oblique. 4th in the last two WCH finals! Question is can Africa put two on the podium?”

Going into the Paris Olympics, Noah Lyles was one of the top favorites to clinch the 100m gold in a repeat of his 2023 World Championships performance. However, with the arrival of Kishane Thompson, who topped the Jamaican national trials with a time of 9.77, the American’s gold medal chances were suddenly thrust into doubt.