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Michael Johnson criticizes Lewis
BRISBANE (Reuters) -- American Michael Johnson has criticized former athletics great Carl Lewis for turning his back on the sport that made him a worldwide celebrity. Johnson, who will run his final race before retiring at the Goodwill Games on Friday, said he was disappointed that Lewis no longer went to athletics meets and had described the sport as boring. "It's disappointing that Carl says he doesn't come to track meets," Johnson said in a television interview broadcast in the United States. "'Track is boring,' I think that was his latest comment, and that's disappointing." Lewis and Johnson are two of the greatest athletes of all time and were team mates on the American track and field team at the 1992 and 1996 Olympics. Lewis won nine gold medals during his Olympic career. Johnson won five, but also holds the world records for 200 meters and 400m. Johnson said he had not decided what he wanted to do after hanging up his spikes but definitely wanted to stay involved in track and field, possibly as a television broadcaster. "I will definitely stay involved in a few ways," Johnson said. "It's always been disappointing to me, after growing up watching the stars of this sport, then seeing them retire from the sport and never get involved in the sport again." Johnson, 34, said he was happy to retire now even though he could probably keep on winning for years. "My objective in my career was not to win as many medals as I could...my objective was to go out there and do things that had never been done before," he said. Johnson said he wanted his young son Sebastian to play sport but was not all that keen on him getting into athletics for fear that he would always be compared to his father. "He might do some great things, but if he doesn't do what I was able to do then he won't be considered a success and I would rather he didn't have that type of pressure," Johnson said.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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