Sport
Johnson: Usain Bolt’s chances of 4 gold tough
Former Olympic 400-meter champion Michael Johnson doubts Usain Bolt (pictured), will be able to win four gold medals at the London Games.
Bolt, who won the Athlete of the Year award on Saturday, said he would like to add the 1,600-meter relay to his repertoire for next year’s Olympics. Bolt won the 100, 200 and 400 relay golds at the 2008 Beijing Games.
“You can’t train for the 400 as well. It would be an absolute distraction and the training wouldn’t work,” Johnson told BBC radio on Tuesday. “I think he could be the world-record holder at 400 meters but he’s said that he has no interest in training for it, which I can understand, it’s a difficult race to train for.”
Bolt has long been rumored to add the 400, his share of the 1,600 relay, to his schedule, but has said he has no interest in the longer race and prefers to stay with the short sprints. He has also said he could one day compete in the long jump.
The last track star to win four gold medals at the same Olympics was Carl Lewis, the American great who won the 100, 200, 400 relay and long jump at the 1984 Los Angeles Games.
