Michael Johnson, American sprinter and journalist
Michael Duane Johnson (born September 13, 1967) is an American retired sprinter who won four Olympic gold medals and 8 World Championships gold medals in the span of his career. He formerly held the world and Olympic records in the 200 m and 400 m, as well as the world record in the indoor 400 m. He also once held the world's best time in the 300 m. Johnson is generally considered one of the greatest and most consistent sprinters in the entire history of track and field.Johnson is the only male athlete in history to win both the 200 metres and 400 metres events at the same Olympics, a feat he accomplished at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Johnson is also the only man to successfully defend his Olympic title in the 400 m, having done so at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. Aside from his Olympic success, Johnson accumulated eight gold medals at the World Championships and is tied with Carl Lewis for the fourth most gold medals won by a runner.Johnson's distinctive stiff upright running position and very short steps defied the conventional wisdom that a high knee lift was necessary for maximum speed. As of 2012, Johnson holds 13 of the top 100 times for the 200 metres and 27 of the top 100 times for the 400 metres. Of those, he holds 14 of the top 25 times for the 400 metres. He broke 44 seconds for the 400 metres 22 times, more than twice as many times as any other athlete.
Johnson held the national records for the 200, 300 and 400 metres. The 4 × 400 metres relay world record was anchored by Johnson.
Since 2001, he has worked at the BBC, appearing as a pundit at multiple events. He has been a part of the BBC's Olympics athletics coverage since Beijing 2008.