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. He remains the only athlete to have broken 19.4 seconds for the 200 metres and 43.4 seconds for the 400 metres.

Awards

 * World Athletics Awards
 * World Athlete of the Year (Men)：1996, 1999


 * Men's Track & Field Athlete of the Year: 1990, 1996
 * Jesse Owens Award: 1994, 1995, 1996
 * Associated Press Athlete of the Year: 1996
 * Best Male Track Athlete ESPY Award: 1994, 1996, 1997, 2000
 * James E. Sullivan Award: 1996
 * Jesse Owens International Trophy: 1996, 1997

400 meters
In the history of track, ninety times has a runner run the 400 meters in less than 44 seconds. Johnson alone accounts for 22 of these 90 sub-44 performances (correct ).

World records
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, 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
 * 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)
 * Johnson ran a Championship record 20.01, .33 seconds ahead of Frankie Fredericks.
 * Largest margin of victory in 200 m since Jesse Owens ran a world record 20.7, .4 seconds ahead of Mack Robinson, in the 1936 Olympics

Largest margin of victory in the 200 meters in history (1996 Olympics)
 * Johnson ran a world record 19.32, .36 seconds ahead of Frankie Fredericks.
 * Tied with Jesse Owens
 * Broken by Usain Bolt

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
 * Also achieved by LaShawn Merritt, the second athlete to do so, Isaac Makwala, the third, and Wayde van Niekerk, the fourth athlete.

Only athlete to break 20 seconds in 200 meters and 44 seconds in 400 meters at the same meet
 * He first achieved this at the 1995 U.S. National Championships.

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
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
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
 * Tied with Carl Lewis
 * Broken by Usain Bolt

Achievements

 * 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