Mental strength the secret of my success says Johnson

Michael Johnson is widely acclaimed as one of the greatest ever athletes. Winner of four Olympic titles and nine World Championship medals, the US sprinter dominated the 200 and 400 metres events for many years. Johnson tells Valhmor Camilleri that his path to glory was more than just innate talent.

Dubbed the world’s fastest man at the prime of his career, Johnson drew the attention from all quar-ters of the globe with his surging runs in the 1990s during which time he set world records in both 200 and 400 metres races.

Life at the top is hard but if you’re determined you can reach all your goals

Late last month, the 44-year-old from Dallas, was a keynote speaker at the Advantage Travel Con-ference which was held at the Hilton Malta where over 400 delegates from UK travel agencies attended.

I was lucky enough to be among the few local journalists to meet Johnson outside the conference room and I got more than I expected from this athletics legend during our talk.

“Actually, this is my second visit to Malta,” Johnson revealed.

“The last time I was here, I was also invited for a conference.

“I really love this place, the people are very warm and the sea is beautiful. I want to return in future with my family and spend some time here.”

Johnson made his bow on the track in the late 1980s but had his first telling impact on the international scene at the 1991 World Championships in Tokyo where he won the 200 metres final with the widest margin (0.33 seconds over Frankie Fredericks) since Jesse Owens in the 1936 Olympics.

However, in Johnson’s words, it was the following year that marked a crucial turning point in his career.

“The US Olympic trials in New Orleans of 1992 were a defining moment in my running story,” he said.

“I qualified for the 200m final and the toss of the draw put me in lane no.8... a position I was not accustomed to because as the highest-ranked in the discipline I always started from lane four or five. Moreover, the great Calvin Smith and Carl Lewis were also in the same race.

“I sat down with my coach for a chat and he advised me to make sure I had control of all the elements that could have ruined my performance. So, I visualised the race mentally and took into consideration many factors that could happen on the track and think of ways of overcoming them.

“I did this exercise hundreds of times and it helped me to adopt a positive approach and at the same time filled me with confidence.

“The race was a huge triumph as I won in 19.79 seconds, a new meet record that previously belonged to Lewis (19.84).”

The 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, however, turned out to be a nightmare for Johnson as he was plagued with food poisoning.

He bowed out of the 200m semi-finals but somewhat made up for that setback with a 4x400 gold.

That was no consolation for Johnson, however.

“The relay gold meant nothing to me, really,” he said.

“I was an individual runner more than anything else and failing to challenge for the 200 metres title in Barcelona was a complete failure.”

Back in the United States, Johnson set his focus on the next Games in Atlanta.

“I was determined to bounce back four years later. I knew there was a lot of pressure to deal with in Atlanta but all my training was centred to reach that goal. I also set up a bigger challenge as I added the 400m race to my list... a feat nobody had achieved before.

“I knew it was an audacious attempt but I felt confident all the way,” he said.

In 1995, Johnson gave a glimpse of what was to come in Atlanta when he became the first runner to complete a 200/400 double at the World Champion-ships in Gothenburg.

At the following US trials he set the track alight when he smashed the 200m record of 19.79 (held for several years by Italian Pietro Mennea) in 19.66 seconds.

In Atlanta, he went even further when he lowered that mark to 19.32. That was his second world record in the summer of 1996 as a few days earlier he went on to establish a new 400m milestone when claiming gold in 43.49.

“The Atlanta Games were the apex of my career. I was in the best form of my life. Not only did I manage to become the first to win the 200 and 400 but I also achieved that in record time,” he said.

Johnson remained at the top for four more years, defending his titles in style and also lowering the one-lap race record to 43.18. His last appearance in an Olympics was in Sydney 2000 where he succeeded in retaining his 400m title.

Looking back, Johnson said success was not just down to talent.

“Talent alone is not enough to become a champion,” he emphasised.

“It’s good to be skilled in your trade but that has to be backed by other key elements in sport. You always need to practice hard and show dedication. An athlete has to be mentally strong to overcome all difficulties that can prop up in competition.

“It’s a combination of things. Life at the top is hard but if you’re determined you can reach all your goals.”

Since Johnson’s retirement, it’s a view shared by many that the one who has succeeded him as no.1 on the track is Usain Bolt.

Johnson has made no secret of his admiration towards the Jamaica superstar.

“Usain Bolt is phenomenal,” Johnson, who will attend the London Olympics as a BBC commentator, said.

“He is the fastest man around.

“In Beijing he won the 100, 200 and 4x100m in record time. He did that all at one go... no-one will ever repeat his feat.

“Obviously, in London Bolt will again be the favourite but as I’ve always said it’s one thing reaching the top and a completely different story to stay there.

“Perhaps, my best achievement really was that I was no.1 in my events for almost 12 years. I am curious to see how long can Bolt last in his domain.”

Johnson’s 43.18 is one of the most long-standing records in athletics along with the triple jump mark set by Jonathan Edwards in 1995.

Asked which of the two will fall first, Johnson had no doubts.

“Edwards’s record will soon be broken as today’s triple jumpers are getting pretty close to his mark. I think it’s only a matter of months now,” he said.

“As regards the 400, lately there hasn’t been much sub-44 runs and I can’t understand why.

“It seems that sprinters have not progressed enough to have a go at my record. So, I think it will take a few more months for someone to lower that time.”

At the moment, Johnson is dedicating most of his time to the Michael Johnson Performance (MJP) which he runs.

MJP operates from state-of-the-art training centres in the US and provides training and consulting to professional athletes and sports teams all over the world.

“The idea behind MJP is to help people achieve their goals in sports whatever they may be. We work with different organisations and our philosophy applies to all abilities.

“Our message is very clear. With hard work and dedication you can go far. The most important thing is to have mental strength to fight all adversities. Sport is such a great way of forming a strong character and become a better person.

“We urge more youngsters to take up sport as that makes our society healthier in all aspects.”