Olympic champion Michael Johnson praises the 'build-up' to Kentucky Derby, wishes the same for track and field

Michael Johnson recently opened up about the ongoing build-up for the Kentucky Derby which has every fan's enthusiasm rising. The former Olympic gold medalist wished for similar pre-race tactics for track and field to help the sport become more exciting and reach a wider audience.

Michael Johnson is tirelessly in the pursuit to carry track and field to become one of the most popular sports in the likes of the NBA and the NFL. The American believes that the sport is not promoted to a wider audience which is one of the major reasons it fails to get widely watched during events other than the Olympics and the World Championships.

Johnson took to social media to reveal how he enjoyed the build-up to the Kentucky Derby. The former Olympic gold medalist felt that this should be incorporated into track and field as well. He listed the points that made the build-up to the Kentucky Derby different and unique.

"Watching the build up to one of my favorite sporting events. @KentuckyDerby. Not a single mention of times or how fast the horses have run. Just 1) The stories of how they got here, and 2) their chances of winning or where they may place in the race. Track needs this!," he tweeted.

Johnson felt that their approach to celebrate different stories instead of delving deep into statistics helped in making a huge difference.

Michael Johnson's criticises athletes for not promoting the sport despite incredible achievements

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Michael Johnson feels that athletes have ahuge role in promoting the sport to the masses. He took to X to criticise Pole Vauter, Mondo Duplantis after her created the world record but termed his incredible feat as "nothing too much out of the ordinary."

During an interview ahead of the diamong league Mondo spoke about his world record.

"I mean, I guess it. It's been pretty chill. Nothing too much out of the ordinary. I guess I'm just mentally on a bit of a cloud nine than just your average competition," he said.

Michael Johson responded to Mondo's comment on X

"This is a problem for pole vault. WRs get attention because they’re usually special. The guy breaking them doesn’t make it feel special. Competition gets attention. He has no competition. The problem IS NOT HIS FAULT, but it’s a problem," he tweeted.

Michael Johnson wishes to bring back the glory of track and field once again and in an attempt to do so is working on launching a fan -focused track and field league to unlock the true commercial value of the sport.