Michael Johnson
As a runner, Michael Johnson’s fluid grace was a joy to watch. As a speaker – keynote speaker, event host, motivational speaker – his life story commands attention.
Born in Dallas, Texas in 1967, the youngest of five children, Johnson is without doubt one of America’s finest ever track athletes. His unique upright running style with its short flowing steps defied conventional training techniques and, combined with his trademark golden running shoes, made his speed and acceleration look effortless and irresistible.
Unusually, both the 200 metres and 400 metres sprints were his favoured events — and his record as a world class athlete at the top of both disciplines, remains one of the great careers in all sport.
Johnson is the only male to win gold at both distances in the same Olympics (Atlanta 1996). He’s the only male athlete to defend the 400 metre Olympic title successfully (Sydney, 2000). At 400 metres, he went seven years unbeaten from 1993. In all he is the winner of four Olympic golds and eight world championship titles.
After his stellar, record-breaking track career, he turned his attention to broadcasting where he soon won a reputation for his sparkling, incisive and straight-talking presence in the studio at athletics events. He became a familiar fixture on the BBC where he established himself as one of the corporation’s top sports pundits. If you’re looking for a high profile sports speaker, Michael is the perfect choice.
Life had one more battle in store for Michael Johnson. Fit and healthy he may have been but in September 2018 he suffered a stroke. He was taken to hospital just in time. Then, summoning what he himself called his “Olympic Mindset” he set about managing his own recovery, determined that the condition should not leave its terrible mark on his ability to lead a full normal life. Eight gruelling months later, he declared himself “100 percent recovered”. Now he works tirelessly to help promote awareness of stroke.
His personal qualities, and his life story, make him the perfect keynote and motivational speaker to boost your event.