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List of career achievements by Michael Johnson

This page details the career achievements of American track & field athlete Michael Johnson. Over the course of his career, Johnson consistently dominated his events, winning almost every time he took to the track. He set numerous world and Olympic records in short distance track, both as an individual and as a member of relay teams. His domination of the 400 meter race is unprecedented in the history of track and field, making him arguably the greatest 400 m runner of all time. For approximately one decade, Michael Johnson held the world records in the 200 meters, 400 meters and indoor 400 meters, as well as the world's best time in the 300 meters and the world record for the 4 by 400 meter relay. He is still a world record holder for the 4 x 400 meter relay. In 2004, Johnson was voted into the United States Track & Field Hall of Fame. At the ceremony, his record-setting 200-meter performance at the 1996 Summer Olympics was deemed the greatest track and field moment in the past 25 years. Johnson is generally considered one of the greatest and most consistent sprinters in the history of track and field.[1][2]

Medal record

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Olympics

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Games Event Times Result
1992 Barcelona 4 x 400 m relay 2:55.74 (44.73)     Gold
1996 Atlanta 200 m 19.32     Gold
1996 Atlanta 400 m 43.49   Gold
2000 Sydney 400 m 43.84 Gold
2000 Sydney 4 x 400 m relay 2:56.35 (44.29) Disqualified*
*Teammates Antonio Pettigrew and Jerome Young later admitted to use of performance-enhancing drugs, invalidating this performance and vacating the team of their gold medals.

World Championships

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Games Event Time Result
1991 Tokyo 200 m 20.01   Gold
1993 Stuttgart 400 m 43.65   Gold
1993 Stuttgart 4 x 400 m relay 2:54.29 (42.91)     Gold
1995 Gothenburg 200 m 19.79   Gold
1995 Gothenburg 400 m 43.39   Gold
1995 Gothenburg 4 x 400 m relay 2:57.32 (44.11) Gold
1997 Athens 400 m 44.12 Gold
1999 Seville 400 m 43.18     Gold

Awards

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World Athlete of the Year (Men)：1996, 1999[3]

Track & Field News World Rankings

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Event 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
200 meters 1 1 3 4 1 1 1 7 NR 2 8
400 meters 1 1 5 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

Personal bests

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200 meters

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Track records (11) are highlighted.


Time (sec) Wind Result Date Venue Age Notes
19.32     0.4 1 August 1, 1996 Atlanta, GA, United States 28 years, 323 days
19.66   1.7 1 June 23, 1996 Atlanta, GA, United States 28 years, 284 days
19.71A 1.8 1 r1 March 18, 2000 Pietersburg, South Africa 32 years, 187 days
19.77 0.6 1 July 8, 1996 Stockholm, Sweden 28 years, 299 days
19.79 1.0 1 June 28, 1992 New Orleans, Louisiana, United States 24 years, 289 days
19.79   0.5 1 August 11, 1995 Gothenburg, Sweden 27 years, 332 days
19.83 1.7 1 May 18, 1996 Atlanta, GA, United States 28 years, 248 days
19.85 0.4 1 July 6, 1990 Edinburgh, Scotland 22 years, 296 days
19.85 1.1 2 July 5, 1996 Oslo, Norway 28 years, 296 days
19.88A 1.5 1 August 8, 1990 Sestriere, Italy 22 years, 329 days
19.88 –0.9 1 September 20, 1991 Barcelona, Spain 24 years, 7 days
19.89 1.0 1 September 13, 1991 Bruxelles, Belgium 24 years, 0 days
19.89 0.3 1 h4 July 22, 2000 Sacramento, CA, United States 32 years, 313 days
19.90 0.3 1 June 16, 1990 Norwalk, CA, United States 22 years, 276 days 1990 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
19.91 1.9 1 July 13, 1992 Salamanca, Spain 24 years, 304 days
19.91 0.0 1 r1 June 9, 2000 Sevilla, Spain 32 years, 270 days
19.93 –0.3 1 September 9, 1995 Monaco, Monaco 27 years, 361 days
19.93 0.8 1 July 7, 1999 Roma, Italy 31 years, 297 days
19.93 0.4 1 September 3, 1999 Bruxelles, Belgium 31 years, 355 days
19.94 1.4 1 September 15, 1991 Sheffield, England 24 years, 2 days This time equalled James Sanford's (USA) track record from June 1980 which was set with wind assistance of 4 m/s.
19.94 0.0 1 August 2, 1994 Monaco, Monaco 26 years, 323 days
19.98 –0.4 1 September 6, 1991 Rieti, Italy 23 years, 358 days
19.98 0.3 1 May 22, 1992 Houston, TX, United States 24 years, 252 days
20.01 1.0 1 June 29, 1990 Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France 22 years, 289 days
20.01   –3.4 1 August 27, 1991 Tokyo, Japan 23 years, 348 days
20.01 0.3 1 sf1 August 11, 1995 Göteborg, Sweden 27 years, 332 days


Johnson also holds the track record for Gateshead, United Kingdom where in August 1990 he ran 20.21 seconds with a wind assistance of 2.2 m/s.

400 meters

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In the history of track, 102 times has a runner run the 400 meters in less than 44 seconds. Johnson alone accounts for 22 of these 102 sub-44 performances (correct as of August 2024).

Track records (11) are highlighted.


Time (sec) Result Date Venue Age Notes
43.18     1 August 26, 1999 Seville, Spain 31 years, 347 days
43.39   1 August 9, 1995 Gothenburg, Sweden 27 years, 330 days
43.44 1 June 19, 1996 Atlanta, GA, United States 28 years, 280 days
43.49   1 July 29, 1996 Atlanta, GA, United States 28 years, 320 days
43.65   1 August 17, 1993 Stuttgart, Germany 25 years, 338 days
43.66 1 June 16, 1995 Sacramento, CA, United States 27 years, 276 days
43.66 1 r1 July 3, 1996 Lausanne, Switzerland 28 years, 294 days
43.68 1 August 12, 1998 Zürich, Switzerland 30 years, 333 days
43.68 1 July 16, 2000 Sacramento, CA, United States 32 years, 307 days
43.74 1 June 19, 1993 Eugene, OR, United States 25 years, 279 days
43.75 1 April 19, 1997 Waco, TX, United States 29 years, 218 days
43.76 1 July 21, 1998 Uniondale, NY, United States 30 years, 311 days
43.84 1 September 25, 2000 Sydney, Australia 33 years, 12 days
43.86 1 July 21, 1995 Oslo, Norway 27 years, 311 days
43.88 1 August 16, 1995 Zürich, Switzerland 27 years, 337 days
43.90 1 September 6, 1994 Madrid, Spain 26 years, 358 days
43.92 1 r2 July 2, 1999 Lausanne, Switzerland 31 years, 292 days
43.92 1 June 24, 2000 Eugene, OR, United States 32 years, 285 days
43.94 1 August 27, 1993 Berlin, Germany 25 years, 348 days
43.95 1 sf1 August 24, 1999 Seville, Spain 31 years, 345 days
43.96 1 August 8, 1998 Monaco, Monaco 30 years, 329 days
43.98 1 r1 July 10, 1992 London, England 24 years, 301 days
44.04 1 August 30, 1994 Berlin, Germany 26 years, 351 days
44.06 1 August 28, 1998 Brussels, Belgium 30 years, 349 days
44.07 1 August 25, 2000 Brussels, Belgium 32 years, 347 days
44.12 1 August 5, 1997 Athens, Greece 29 years, 326 days
44.17 1 r1 July 10, 1991 Lausanne, Switzerland 23 years, 300 days

Indoor 400 meters

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Time (sec) Result Date Venue Age Notes
44.63  [4] 1 March 4, 1995 Atlanta, GA, United States 27 years, 172 days 1995 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships
44.66 1 March 2, 1996 Atlanta, GA, United States 28 years, 171 days
44.97A   1 February 10, 1995 Reno, NV, United States 27 years, 150 days First athlete to break 45 seconds
45.14 1 February 20, 1993 Birmingham, England 25 years, 160 days
45.17 1 February 26, 1994 Birmingham, England 26 years, 166 days
45.32 1 February 24, 1996 Fairfax, VA, United States 28 years, 164 days
45.46 1 r1 February 28, 1991 Sevilla, Spain 23 years, 168 days
45.55 1 February 25, 1995 Fairfax, VA, United States 27 years, 165 days

100 meters

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Time (sec) Wind Result Date Venue Age
10.09 2.0 2 h3 June 15, 1994 Knoxville, TN, United States 26 years, 275 days

300 meters

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Both of these times are track records.


Time (sec) Result Date Venue Age
30.85 1 March 24, 2000 Pretoria, South Africa 32 years, 193 days
31.56 1 July 22, 1994 Salamanca, Spain 26 years, 312 days

4 by 200 meters relay

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Time (sec) Result Date Venue Age Team Legs
1:19.47 1 April 24, 1999 Philadelphia, PA, United States 31 years, 223 days Nike Kenny Brokenburr, Alvin Harrison, Maurice Greene, Michael Johnson

4 by 400 meters relay

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Track records are highlighted.


Time (sec) Result Date Venue Age Team Legs Notes
2:54.29 (42.91)     1 August 22, 1993 Stuttgart, Germany 25 years, 343 days United States Andrew Valmon, Quincy Watts, Butch Reynolds, Michael Johnson 1993 World Championships Final. Fastest relay leg in history.
2:55.74 (44.73)     1 August 8, 1992 Barcelona, Spain 24 years, 330 days United States Andrew Valmon, Quincy Watts, Michael Johnson, Steve Lewis 1992 Summer Olympics Final
2:57.32 (44.11) 1 August 13, 1995 Göteborg, Sweden 27 years, 334 days United States Marlon Ramsey, Derek Mills, Butch Reynolds, Michael Johnson 1995 World Championships Final
2:58.72 1 sf2 August 21, 1993 Stuttgart, Germany 25 years, 342 days United States Andrew Valmon, Antonio Pettigrew, Derek Mills, Michael Johnson 1993 World Championships Qualifying Heat 2

Records

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World records

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Event Time Date Venue Surpassed by
200 meters 19.32 August 1, 1996 Atlanta, GA, USA Usain Bolt (19.19, Berlin, Germany, August 20, 2009)
300 meters 30.85 March 24, 2000 Pretoria, South Africa Wayde van Niekerk (30.81, Ostrava, Czech Republic, June 28, 2017)
400 meters 43.18 August 26, 1999 Sevilla, Spain Wayde van Niekerk (43.03, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 14, 2016)
400 meters (indoor) 44.63 March 4, 1995 Atlanta, GA, United States Kerron Clement (44.57, Fayetteville, AR, United States, March 12, 2005)
4 x 400 meter relay 2:54.29 (42.91) August 22, 1993 Stuttgart, Germany UNBROKEN
4 by 400 meter U.S. relay team consisted of Andrew Valmon, Quincy Watts, Butch Reynolds and Michael Johnson.
Johnson ran the anchor leg in 42.91 seconds, which is the fastest 400 meters ever run by a human.

Fastest 4 x 400 meter relay leg in history: 42.91, fourth leg, United States relay team, August 22, 1993, Stuttgart, Germany

  • 1993 IAAF World Championships Final (gold)
  • Other than Jeremy Wariner (USA) who ran a 42.93 split in the 2007 Osaka World Championship final,[5] no one else has ever broken 43 seconds.
  • The 4 x 400 m U.S. relay team also set a world record with a time of 2:54.29. Both records still stand.

Consecutive 400 meter finals won: 58[6]

  • Johnson's eight-year winning streak in the 400 m was snapped when he finished fifth in Paris in June 1997. Antonio Pettigrew won the race.

Largest margin of victory in the 200 meters in 55 years (1991 World Championships)

Largest margin of victory in the 200 meters in history (1996 Olympics)

Largest improvement ever on a 200 m world record: .34 seconds

  • Johnson broke his own record

Largest margin of victory in the 400 meters in history (1999 World Championships)

  • Johnson ran a world record 43.18, finishing an incredible 1.11 seconds ahead of second-place Sanderlei Claro Parrela of Brazil.

Only athlete to be ranked #1 in the world in both 200 meters and 400 meters in the same year

  • Five different years (1990, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1996)

First athlete to break 20 seconds in 200 meters and 44 seconds in 400 meters in a career

Only athlete to break 20 seconds in 200 meters and 44 seconds in 400 meters at the same meet

First athlete to break 45 seconds in indoor 400 meters: 44.97, February 10, 1995, Reno, NV, United States

Most gold medals won on the track: Twelve (4 Olympics, 8 World Championships)

  • Carl Lewis won more gold medals in track & field, but not more on the track. Usain Bolt has broken this record, surpassing both Johnson and Lewis in the gold medal count on the track.

First athlete to win both 200 meters and 400 meters at U.S. National Championships (1995)

Olympic records

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Event Time Date Venue Surpassed by
200 meters 19.32 August 1, 1996 Atlanta, GA, United States Usain Bolt (19.30, Beijing, China, August 20, 2008)
400 meters 43.49 July 29, 1996 Atlanta, GA, United States Wayde van Niekerk (43.03, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 14, 2016)
4 x 400 meter relay 2:55.74 (44.73) August 8, 1992 Barcelona, Spain United States (2:55.39, Beijing, China, August 23, 2008)[7]
1992 4 by 400 meter U.S. relay team consisted of Andrew Valmon, Quincy Watts, Michael Johnson and Steve Lewis.
Johnson ran the third leg in 44.73 seconds.
2008 4 by 400 meter U.S. relay team consisted of LaShawn Merritt, Angelo Taylor, David Neville and Jeremy Wariner.

Only man to win 200 meters and 400 meters at the same Olympics (1996 Atlanta)

Only man to repeat as Olympic champion in 400 meters (1996 Atlanta, 2000 Sydney)

IAAF World Championships records

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Event Time Date Venue Surpassed by
200 meters 19.79 August 11, 1995 Gothenburg, Sweden Usain Bolt (19.19 seconds)
400 meters 43.18 August 26, 1999 Sevilla, Spain Never been surpassed
4 x 400 meter relay 2:54.29 (42.91) August 22, 1993 Stuttgart, Germany Never been surpassed
4 by 400 meter U.S. relay team consisted of Andrew Valmon, Quincy Watts, Butch Reynolds and Michael Johnson.
Johnson ran the anchor leg in 42.91 seconds, which is the fastest 400 meters ever run by a human.

Fastest 4 x 400 meter relay leg in World Championships history: 42.91, fourth leg, United States relay team, August 22, 1993, Stuttgart, Germany

  • 1993 IAAF World Championships Final (gold)
  • No one else has ever broken 43 seconds.
  • The 4 x 400 m U.S. relay team also set a world record with a time of 2:54.29. Both records still stand.

Only athlete to win the 200 meters and 400 meters at the World Championships in a career (1991 Tokyo, 1993 Stuttgart)

Only athlete to win the 200 meters and 400 meters at the same World Championships (1995 Gothenburg)

  • This required running nine races in nine days.

Most gold medals won in World Championships history: Eight

Olympic record

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200 meters

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400 meters

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4 by 400 meters

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Achievements

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Year Meeting Venue Result Event Time
1989 USA Indoor Championships 2nd Indoor 400 m
1989 NCAA Indoor Championships 1st Indoor 200 m 20.59 AR
1990 ? Edinburgh, United Kingdom 1st 200 m 19.85 AC
1990 USA Indoor Championships 1st Indoor 400 m 47.43
1990 USA Indoor Championships 1st Indoor 200 m 20.72
1990 USA Outdoors Championships Norwalk 1st 200 m 19.90
1990 NCAA Outdoors Championships Durham 1st 200 m 20.31
1990 Goodwill Games Seattle, United States 1st 200 m
1991 IAAF World Championships Tokyo, Japan 1st 200 m 20.01
1991 USA Indoor Championships 1st Indoor 400 m 46.70
1991 USA Outdoors Championships New York City, United States 1st 200 m 20.31
1991 IAAF / Mobil Grand Prix Final Barcelona, Spain 1st 200 m 19.88
1992 U.S. Olympic Trials New Orleans, United States 1st 200 m 19.79
1992 Crystal Palace London, United Kingdom 1st 400 m 43.98 AC
1992 1992 Summer Olympics Barcelona, Spain 1st 4 x 400 m Relay 2:55.74    
(3rd leg, 44.73)
1993 IAAF World Championships Stuttgart, Germany 1st 4 x 400 m Relay 2:54.29  
(4th leg, 42.91)  
1993 IAAF World Championships Stuttgart, Germany 1st 400 m 43.65 AC
1993 USA Outdoors Championships Eugene, United States 1st 400 m 43.74
1993 IAAF / Mobil Grand Prix Final London, United Kingdom 3rd 200 m
1994 Goodwill Games St. Petersburg, Russia 1st 200 m 20.10 AC
1995 IAAF World Championships Gothenburg, Sweden 1st 4 x 400 m Relay 2:57.32 AC
(4th leg, 44.11)
1995 IAAF World Championships Gothenburg, Sweden 1st 200 m 19.79
1995 IAAF World Championships Gothenburg, Sweden 1st 400 m 43.39 AC
1995 ? Reno, United States 1st Indoor 400 m 44.97  
1995 USA Indoor Championships Atlanta, Georgia 1st Indoor 400 m 44.63  
1995 USA Outdoors Championships 1st 200 m 19.83
1995 USA Outdoors Championships Sacramento, United States 1st 400 m 43.66
1995 IAAF / Mobil Grand Prix Final Monaco 1st 200 m 19.93
1996 Atlanta Grand Prix Final Atlanta, United States 1st 200 m 19.83
1996 U.S. Olympic trials Atlanta, United States 1st 400 m 43.44 US
1996 U.S. Olympic trials Atlanta, United States 1st 200 m 19.66  
1996 1996 Summer Olympics Atlanta, United States 1st 400 m 43.49  
1996 1996 Summer Olympics Atlanta, United States 1st 200 m 19.32    
1996 USA Indoor Championships 1st Indoor 400 m 44.66
1996 IAAF / Mobil Grand Prix Final 1st 400 m
1997 IAAF World Championships Athens, Greece 1st 400 m 44.12
1998 Goodwill Games New York City, United States 1st 400 m 43.76
1998 Oslo, Norway 3rd 400 m 44.58
1999 IAAF World Championships Seville, Spain 1st 4 x 400 m Relay 2:56.47 AC
1999 IAAF World Championships Seville, Spain 1st 400 m 43.18  
2000 Pietersburg, South Africa 1st 200 m 19.71 AC
2000 Pretoria, South Africa 1st 300 m 30.85 WB
2000 South Africa 1st 400 m 43.9
2000 U.S. Olympic Trials Sacramento, United States 1st 400 m 43.68
2000 2000 Summer Olympics Sydney, Australia 1st 400 m 43.84
  • AR - American record
  • AC - All-comers record; fastest time ever run on host nation's soil
  • US - Fastest time ever run on United States soil


Track records

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As of 21 September 2024, Johnson holds the following 31 track records for 200 metres and 400 metres.

A performance in red text was wind-assisted.


200 metres

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Location Time Windspeed
m/s 		Date Notes
Atlanta, GA. 19.32
PB		 + 0.4 01/08/1996 Former WR, former Olympic record
Edinburgh 19.85 + 0.4 06/07/1990
Gateshead 20.21 + 2.2 17/08/1990
Gothenburg 19.79 + 0.5 11/08/1995
New Orleans, LA. 19.79 + 1.0 28/06/1992
Norwalk, CA. 19.90 + 0.3 16/06/1990
Polokwane 19.71 + 1.8 18/03/2000
Sacramento, CA. 19.83 + 3.5 18/06/1995
Salamanca 19.91 + 1.9 13/07/1992
San José 19.99 + 2.5 27/05/1995
Sheffield 19.94 + 1.4 15/09/1991 Track record shared with
James Sanford (USA) from 07/06/1980.
Stockholm 19.77 + 0.6 08/07/1996



400 metres

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Location Time Date Notes
Arlington 44.25 06/05/1995
Atlanta, GA. 43.44 19/06/1996 Fastest time ever run in USA
Berlin 43.94 27/08/1993
Blaine, MN. 44.58 23/06/1990
Bratislava 44.36 01/06/1992
Cologne 44.22 08/09/1991
Durham, UK 44.32 13/08/1994
Gothenburg 43.39 09/08/1995
Madrid 43.90 06/09/1994
Milan 44.53 07/09/1996
Norman 44.23 11/04/1992
Oslo 43.86 21/07/1995
Rieti 44.21 09/09/1990
Sacramento, CA. 43.66 16/06/1995
Seville 43.18
PB		 26/08/1999 World Championships record
Stuttgart 43.65 17/08/1993
Sydney 43.84 25/09/2000
Uniondale, NY. 43.76 21/07/1998
Waco, TX. 43.75 19/04/1997

References

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  1. ^ "Michael Johnson Biography and Olympic Results | Olympics at". Sports-reference.com. 13 September 1967. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2011.
  2. ^ Michael Johnson. "Player Bio: Michael Johnson – Baylor Bears Official Athletic Site". BaylorBears.com. Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 2 April 2011.
  3. ^ "World Athletes of the Year" (PDF). World Athletics.
  4. ^ 400 Metres All Time (indoor). (2009-02-08). Retrieved on 2009-04-06.
  5. ^ 4 × 400 metres relay
  6. ^ "Johnson doubled the difficulty". ESPN SportsCentury. ESPN.com. September 14, 1999. Retrieved May 14, 2013.
  7. ^ "United States powers to record-breaking 4 x 400m Relay gold". The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. August 23, 2008. Archived from the original on August 24, 2008. Retrieved August 23, 2008.
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