The four-time Olympic champion dismissed the idea of waiting for another Usain Bolt as he revealed a way to revolutionalise track and field.
American sprint legend Michael Johnson has slammed the idea of waiting for another Usain Bolt as he provided a solution on how to make track and field interesting again.
Following the retirement of the Jamaican sprinter, track and field seemingly lost its spark and anytime there is a breakout athlete, fans and experts tend to quickly place tags like ‘the next Usain Bolt’ on them to make the sport interesting.
Gout Gout is one of the athletes who has constantly been compared to the fastest man alive and just at 17, he feels overwhelmed and pressured to be like Usain Bolt.
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Such labels have been condemned by Michael Johnson, who advised people to move away from the past and focus on making the sport interesting with new initiatives.
He added that talents like Usain Bolt come once in a while and when they are not there, track and field should be able to remain relevant and that is where his Grand Slam Track league comes in.
The four-time Olympic champion believes that his track league, pitting some of the greatest athletes against each other, is one of the ways to make track and field alive again.
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“We can’t have another Usain Bolt, he is a very unique individual, and that’s what makes him special. We can’t rely on finding Usain Bolts to sustain the sport,” Michael Johnson said in an interview with Jamaica.
“We have to create the league of the sport where the best of the best are competing against each other and it’s about the competition and that’s what people want to see. That’s what sustains the sport, where some of the best athletes compete against each other.”
Usain Bolt broke the 200m world record for the first time at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, clocking 19.30 seconds to obliterate Michael Johnson’s record.
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Michael Johnson was commentating on that race and he admitted that it was magical watching Usain Bolt achieve the bold milestone.
Usain Bolt would later break the 200m world record again, clocking 19.19 seconds at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, Germany.
“Watching Usain was interesting to see one of those generational talents that doesn’t come out easily, one that could challenge record books and what we previously thought was humanly impossible. It was really cool to watch and be part of that as a commentator,” Michael Johnson said.
“That’s not what we look forward to in a sport on a daily basis, it’s more about a competition. That was not a competition, it’s like when people used to watch me run. When Usain Bolt retired, there were conversations that we need a new star.”
The Grand Slam Track League will debut in April in Kingston, Jamaica, having attracted some of the most exciting athletes who will be fighting for the lucrative lineups as they look to give fans an unforgettable experience.