Magic Johnson sets standard of his own

Johnson's shoes flew to another gold medal

He had wanted to break the world record, his own record, of course, but he didn't do that. That will have to wait. But Michael Johnson did everything else.

He had been beaten by Alvin Harrison as he cruised through his semi-final, but in Monday's final the real Michael Johnson came out to run. And just as he has done so many times before, he left them all standing

Remarkably, he has never done worse than a gold medal at an Olympics or a World Championship, and he was never in danger of doing anything less in Sydney.

World record holder in the 200m, an event he is not running at the Olympics, and in the 400m. He is the automatic favourite for any race he runs.

Excellence

That brings its own pressure, but he never shows any signs that his delight in winning is diminished by how easy it appears to be for him. For Johnson, continued excellence is what his life has been about, and he achieved a little bit more in Sydney, as well as a bit of history.

He is now the only man to defend an Olympic 400m title.

He arrived in Australia with nothing left to prove, but for Johnson the competition is the clock, not the men he faces on the track.

"I just know that every time I run," he says, "people are waiting for me to break the world record. I'm looking to myself to run the best possible race, to win the medal and to set the best possible time.

"And, with a bit of luck, that will be a world record. I feel capable of it, but that doesn't mean I'm going to go telling the world that I'm going to break the record, because I don't know if it will happen."

"I just know that every time I run people are waiting for me to break the world record. I'm looking to myself to run the best possible race, to win the medal and to set the best possible time

  Michael Johnson

"Michael's motivation is simple," his agent Brad Hunt had said before the Games. "He wants to win another Olympic title at 400 metres and to become the first man to run 42 something."

He did the first on Monday but not the second, although no one would bet against him fulfilling the dream in the future. He towers like a colossus over his sport, just as he towered over the 400m field in Sydney.

Such is his reputation that his rivals are as good as beaten before they reach the starting blocks. On another athlete, the gold running shoes that he takes such pride in wearing would look showy, brash, cheap even. But on Johnson they appear to be merely his birthright.

Greatest

Johnson is a shy, neat man of few words, but then his running does all the talking for him.

Even his odd, upright, staccato running style marks him out. It goes against the text books, but with an amazing ability to run faster than anyone else for longer, he makes it work.

No athlete can call himself unbeatable, but that, effectively, is what Michael Johnson is. He is certainly the greatest 400m runner of all time. Truly a man with a fast lane all of his own.