Related News
Johnson calls an end to remarkable hurdling career
Source: Agencies |
July 11, 2010, Sunday
|
Online Edition
Online Edition
FOUR-TIMES world champion and 1996 Olympic gold medalist Allen Johnson called an end to his remarkable sprint hurdling career yesterday after years of defying his age in one of track's most demanding disciplines.
Johnson, who ended Briton Colin Jackson's run of 44 consecutive sprint hurdles victories in 1995 and went on to dominate the event, said his 39-year-old body would not allow him to continue competing in the sport he dearly loved.
"It's just come to the point where my body can't take it any more," Johnson told the crowd at the Diamond League meeting in Gateshead, England, in a trackside interview.
Johnson, who in 2008 won silver over 60 metres at the world indoor championships in Valencia, had time and again battled back from injury to return to competition.
"My daughter was almost four years old when I won in Atlanta in 1996, now she is graduating high school," Johnson told Reuters in an interview last month, in which he stressed that his hunger to compete was still there.
"The thing about getting older is the injuries," said Johnson who set his personal best of 12.92 seconds in 1996.
"You just get injured more often. You take time off, you come back, you get injured again and you never get in shape."
AGE CATCHES UP
After hitting the scene with his victory over Jackson, Johnson won the world indoor 60 metres hurdles title in Barcelona and the 110 metres gold in the Gothenburg world championships in the same year.
The next year Johnson won Olympic gold after missing the world record by only by 0.01 of a second at the U.S. trials.
He followed up with another high hurdles gold at the 1997 world championships in Athens before injuries set him back in 1999 and in 2000.
But Johnson returned to his best at the 2001 and 2003 world outdoor championships in Edmonton and Paris, claiming his third and fourth world titles.
In 2003 and 2004 the American emulated his world indoor success in Barcelona with gold in Birmingham and then Budapest over 60 metres. The win in Hungary was to be Johnson's last major victory but he still had more hardware in his future.
At the 2005 world championships in Helsinki, Johnson came third in the 110 metres hurdles and capped his resume with the indoor silver over 60 metres in 2008.
Last year he showed he could still factor in his signature 110 metres, ranking among the world's top 40 hurdlers with a best of 13.43 seconds.
Injuries and age, however, finally caught up with the native of Washington, D.C.
Johnson had been due to compete in an event in Glasgow last Wednesday but pulled up in the warmup in Gateshead.
"Maybe I can coach some hurdlers or some sprinters...give something back," Johnson said. "I'm going to miss it, I really am but it was fun."
Johnson, who ended Briton Colin Jackson's run of 44 consecutive sprint hurdles victories in 1995 and went on to dominate the event, said his 39-year-old body would not allow him to continue competing in the sport he dearly loved.
"It's just come to the point where my body can't take it any more," Johnson told the crowd at the Diamond League meeting in Gateshead, England, in a trackside interview.
Johnson, who in 2008 won silver over 60 metres at the world indoor championships in Valencia, had time and again battled back from injury to return to competition.
"My daughter was almost four years old when I won in Atlanta in 1996, now she is graduating high school," Johnson told Reuters in an interview last month, in which he stressed that his hunger to compete was still there.
"The thing about getting older is the injuries," said Johnson who set his personal best of 12.92 seconds in 1996.
"You just get injured more often. You take time off, you come back, you get injured again and you never get in shape."
AGE CATCHES UP
After hitting the scene with his victory over Jackson, Johnson won the world indoor 60 metres hurdles title in Barcelona and the 110 metres gold in the Gothenburg world championships in the same year.
The next year Johnson won Olympic gold after missing the world record by only by 0.01 of a second at the U.S. trials.
He followed up with another high hurdles gold at the 1997 world championships in Athens before injuries set him back in 1999 and in 2000.
But Johnson returned to his best at the 2001 and 2003 world outdoor championships in Edmonton and Paris, claiming his third and fourth world titles.
In 2003 and 2004 the American emulated his world indoor success in Barcelona with gold in Birmingham and then Budapest over 60 metres. The win in Hungary was to be Johnson's last major victory but he still had more hardware in his future.
At the 2005 world championships in Helsinki, Johnson came third in the 110 metres hurdles and capped his resume with the indoor silver over 60 metres in 2008.
Last year he showed he could still factor in his signature 110 metres, ranking among the world's top 40 hurdlers with a best of 13.43 seconds.
Injuries and age, however, finally caught up with the native of Washington, D.C.
Johnson had been due to compete in an event in Glasgow last Wednesday but pulled up in the warmup in Gateshead.
"Maybe I can coach some hurdlers or some sprinters...give something back," Johnson said. "I'm going to miss it, I really am but it was fun."
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
