Episode 535: Michael Johnson – 4x Olympic Gold Medalist & 8x World Champion on Building the Sport of Track and Field

I'll Have Another with Lindsey Hein Podcast

This is a super exciting episode because I have wanted to have Michael Johnson on the podcast since I launched I’ll Have Another! Michael Johnson is a legend in the entire sports world. He is a sprinter who won four Olympic gold medals and eight world championship gold medals in the span of his career. He held the world record and Olympic records in the 200m and 400m. He won gold in the 200 and 400 in the same year, which was a really big deal in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. He won the gold medal again in the 400m at the 2000 Olympics.

He was elected to the United States Track and Field Hall of Fame in 2004. He’s worked as a television commentator, often for the BBC in the United Kingdom. He’s also a business performance speaker and coach.

He has a new venture with a new track league that he is super excited about. He has a big mission to get more eyes on track and field and help these athletes make a great career out of the sport we love so much. There’s going to be some big announcements coming up about his track league that will be launching next year. He’ll touch on it a little bit in this episode, but look for news on that coming very soon.

This is a dream interview. I am so excited to bring you this conversation. Truly, I’m just so grateful for people who have been listening to this podcast, who are new, who have been listening for eight years since I launched in 2016. These are the kind of interviews that I’ve always dreamed of being able to produce. And I don’t take it lightly when I get to talk to legends in our sport like Michael Johnson. So enjoy this episode!!

Thanks to Noah at Omorpho for setting up this interview!

What we talked about:

3:00- Pre Classic

11:05- Building the sport

20:30- Becoming a 200m and 400m Olympic Champion

22:50- The new track league he is starting

24:45- How to get more eyes on the sport and athletes

34:00- How his childhood affected his competitive drive

36:00- The mentality that he had in his career

42:20- The 2028 Olympics in the USA

46:00- End of podcast questions

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