Olympic gold medalist Michael Johnson recently criticized Mondo Duplantis over his comments after breaking the world record. Johnson has been a staunch supporter of the sport and uses every opportunity to promote the sport to the masses as well as bring track and field back to its previous glory.
Michael Johnson has taken several steps to promote the sport and initiate discussions about great track and field athletes and sportsmanship among the masses. Mondo Duplantis, who is all set to participate in the Shanghai Diamond League, spoke about his world record vault and expressed that he did not consider it too ordinary.
" 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 Johnson felt that he did not make such an incredible feat feel special. Also, he felt that pole vault as a sport had gotten attention from the audience However, Duplantis does not have enough competition to make it more exciting. Johnson took to X to express his thoughts.
"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's initiative to make track and field popular again
Over the last few years, Michael Johnson has been trying his best to promote track and field to a wider audience. He believes that with the kind of athletes who take part in the events as well as the incredible performances on display during events should make the sport more popular in the likes of the NBA and NFL.
In an attempt to achieve his goal of making the sport popular, he partnered with Winners Alliance to create a fully fan-focused league. He took to X to inform the world about his new venture.
"Hey everybody, just wanted to come out here and let you know how excited I am about my new track venture. I have teamed up with some great partners and together we are making the biggest investment ever into professional track and field to build a professional truly fan-focused league that will unlock commercial value for the best track and field athletes in the world," he said.