"The sad reality of being an Olympic athlete"- Michael Johnson reacts to Tokyo gold medalist Yulimar Roja pulling out of Paris Olympics 2024

Michael Johnson recently reacted to Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Yulimar Roja's announcement to pull out of the Paris Olympic Games. The announcement cam as a surprise to all track and field fans.

Tokyo Olympic gold medalist and four-time world champion, Yulimar Roja expressed her displeasure in announcing that she would have to skip the Olympic games in Paris due to an Achilles tendon injury.

"It is with great pain and sadness that I want to tell you that while I was training, I fell on the descent from a jump. I had intense pain that was diagnosed as an injury to my left Achilles tendon. My heart is broken and I feel so much sadness. I want to apologize for not being able to represent them [Venezuela] at Paris 2024," she said in an Instagram announcement.

Reacting to the same, Michael Johnson expressed his thoughts on social media. He stressed how important it is for an Olympic athlete to be fit on that particular day to claim that title and there are no next chances for the next four years.

"The sad reality of being an Olympic athlete. Unlike other sports there is no next year! You can be the greatest but you must be the greatest on the day to be Olympic champion. But that’s also what makes it so special," he tweetd.

Michael Johnson's concern about global track and field

Michael Johnson

Michael Johnson has been a staunch supporter of track and field and always raises concerns about the growth of the sport. Since the last few years, he has been trying his utmost to promote the sport to a wider audience and increase its popularity.

Recently, the United States Athletics Federation announced that they won't be sending the country's contingent to the World U20 Championships that will be held in Peru later this year. The reasons cited for the decision were "safety, event date" and "competitive readiness."

Michael Johnson took to X to voice his opinion on the development as he felt that this could have an impact on global track and field.

"Is the track & field global champs model in trouble? UKA sending fewer athletes to championships, US not sending a team to U20, Commonwealth Games can’t find a host, ‘27 Pam Am Games stripped from Columbia, ‘26 Birmingham Europeans safe but after financial problems," he wrote.

Moreover, in an attempt to promote the sport, the former Olympic gold medalist is working on launching a track and field league that would help raise the commercial value of the sport.