"The value of winning is getting lost" - Michael Johnson makes his stance clear about the apparent change in mentality amid multiple world records

Michael Johnson recently expressed his thoughts on the apparent change in mentality among people lately, with multiple world records being broken in the indoor track season. The legendary athlete shed light on how track is one of the most competitive sports in the world and said winning the gold medal in a particular event is a very tough task.

The legendary athlete also revealed how he feared that the value of winning was declining as people were focusing more on records and world leads. According to him, winning and having a winning spirit is very important in track, since that is an important factor that drives the sport.

Michael Johnson took to X to express his thoughts on the supposed shift in mindset amid the indoor track season. He urged people to keep up the sporting spirit and give more importance to winning races than paying attention to records - unless they are significant ones like the National Record or the World Record.

"Track is one of the most competitive sports. I fear that and the value of winning are getting lost. Winning in track is really hard, and means a lot to win. Records and world leads are great too, but they’re secondary to winning. Except world and sometimes national records," he wrote.

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Michael Johnson shares his stance on the apparent obsession over high school athletes' performances

Michael Johnson at the Olympic & Paralympic Games, Paris 2024 and Beyond - Laureus World Sports Awards Madrid 2024 - Source: Getty

Michael Johnson took to X to express his thoughts on the apparent obsession of high school athletes who win races at an early age. The legendary American athlete said that unless high school athletes prove themselves on the professional circuit by putting forward strong performances, they should not hyped up as it diminishes the value of pro athletes.

Johnson believes that youngsters should be given the opportunity to improve and prove themselves in the pro race circuit during the track season. He talked about how Quincy Wilson is one of those athletes who have proved himself multiple times on the pro circuit, by breaking the U18 400m World Record at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials, among other major accomplishments.

"I don’t do hot takes but this is probably as close as I’ll get to one. The pro track world’s inclusion of and obsession with fast high schoolers as young as 13 yrs old who haven’t proven themselves on the pro scene (Quincy has) diminishes the value of pro athletes," he wrote.

Furthermore, Johnson has been vocal about the fact that along with great performances, track and field should be more fan-focussed to make it a global sport as well as help it reach the masses.