Retired American sprinter Michael Johnson is known to give his blunt opinions on track athletes like
Sha’Carri Richardson and Usain Bolt. Recently, the Olympic gold medalist reacted to an intriguing perspective by the Twitter handle Raes Take TV. Recalling intense clashes between track athletes, Raes Take TV praised sprinters in the present era. Responding to this post, Johnson narrated an interesting anecdote about the unexpected aftermath of a fierce contest in the decade of the 1990s.
Johnson’s disclosure reminds one of Johnson’s and Maurice Green’s war of words followed by
Usain Bolt and Justin Gatlin’s rivalry. A display of the stiff competition between Bolt and Gatlin could be seen in the 2016 Olympics, where both gave their best. The Jamaican
athletics champion beat Gatlin and won the gold medal in this contest. Narrating about one such serious confrontation between two athletes, Johnson described the aftermath of this skirmish outside the field.
Michael Johnson’s amusing reaction to Raes Take TV’s post
Raes Take TV tweeted, “Back in my day Sprinters really didn’t like each other. If y’all only knew the amount of fights that was stopped or broken up behind closed doors!”
Responding to this, Johnson tweeted how fights behind closed doors were a better scenario. He further narrated an interesting anecdote.“Zurich 100m around maybe ’95 I think. Words exchanged on the start line just before the race. Later in the hotel lobby full on fist fight! Blood on the carpet.”
This depicts how there were bitter rivalries between track athletes. Usain Bolt, who felt that Justin Gatlin was his biggest competitor once
disclosed the cause of this rivalry. Speaking on the JD in the Duffle Bag podcast in 2021, the world’s fastest man held nothing back.
Usain Bolt speaks out on what led to his fierce contest with Justin Gatlin
After Bolt completed the 100m race in the 2009 World Championships, he lost his zeal to compete. Surprisingly, it was Gatlin’s video that motivated him to compete once again. The tracks athlete recounted how he saw a video of Gatlin in which Gatlin was asked whether he could defeat the world’s fastest man.
Reacting to this, Gatlin had replied, “I’m going to beat him and I’m going to wear my gold medal round my neck like a gold chain.” This led to the beginning of their rivalry which became famous in the world.
Johnson’s admissions are proof of the tremendous competitiveness between track athletes in the decade of the 90s. His reaction will definitely make fans hopeful of seeing such intense competition and fierce rivalries in the future.
