With an upright, piston-like running style, Michael Johnson established himself as one of the greatest sprinters in athletics history. While winning nine world gold medals and five in the Olympics, he set world records in the 200 (19.32 in 1996) and 400 (43.18 in 1999) that still stand, although the latter is under threat by Jeremy Wariner, for whom Johnson serves as an agent. In addition to representing a small group of athletes, Johnson spends his time as a TV commentator and developing a business of training centers. During a recent visit to Osaka, Johnson talked about his career and the present state of the sport with Yomiuri Shimbun sportswriter Ken Tamura. Here are excerpts:

In 1991, you won the 200 meters at the world championships in Tokyo for your first major gold medal. What do you remember from that meet?

It was the first world championships for me and it was good competition and I was very happy to win my first gold medal.

Besides the competition, do you have any memories of Tokyo at that time?

Not really, because as an athlete it's not about being a tourist or that type of thing. You come to basically focus on training everyday and preparing for the competition, and that's really it. So every championships it's been for me like that as an athlete, you don't really have time to become a tourist and really experience the culture of the place that you're in when you're there for a competition.

At your last world championships in Seville in 1999, you achieved the world record in the 400, a major objective for you. Can you recall the joy and feeling of achievement at that time?

I went into the championships thinking that I was in the position to break the world record, but my focus was primarily on winning the race and then if the opportunity was there, to break the world record. I made the decision that I would go for it, so I did and I was very pleased to accomplish it.

What do you think of the new generation of sprinters that has come along like Jeremy Wariner, Walter Dix, Tyson Gay and Xavier Carter?

I think they're all very, very talented and they're very young and they're running very well. And it will be interesting to see how they compete here in Osaka...at the championship level.

Jeremy has already won at the Olympic level and world championship level and I think he'll continue. The other athletes, it will be a big test for them to see how they compete at the championship level. (Note: Dix and Carter will not be competing in Osaka)

For the 400, Jeremy still has a little way to go to break your world record. What do you think he needs to do to cut the gap?

That I don't know. If he knew or I knew, then he would already be breaking it. So it's something he has to figure out whether he can be a little bit quicker and faster.

You said that he would probably break the world record in two years. Is that the timeframe you foresee?

I can't say exactly when or if Jeremy or any other athlete is going to break a world record. Just based on looking at him run and that he's learning very quickly and that he runs very well and he's very consistent, it is my opinion that it could probably happen in the next couple of years. Does that mean it's going to happen? I don't know.

You were a champion in both the 200 and 400. Did you prefer one over the other?

My preference actually was to run both and it was very difficult when I had to make a decision, In 1991, it was a pretty easy decision because it was my first championships and I was mostly focused on running the 200, but in 1993, I had to make a very difficult decision. But in 1995 it was a very good championships for me, I ran personal bests at both 200 and 400 because I was able to run both. Same thing in 1996 in the Olympics, I ran my best time in the 200 meters because I was able to run both. But from that point, it was always having to choose, which was difficult.

In athletics, doping is a serious issue. Do you think doping can be eradicated?

No, because people will always cheat. To eradicate doping would be like eradicating crime from society. You always have to have law enforcement and a judicial system and you have to try to stay one step ahead of the criminals. It's always going to be that way in sports, not just track and field. You're never going to have people not cheating anymore, they're always going to try. You always have to have antidoping agencies, you have to have drug testing to try to stay ahead of the people who cheat so you can catch those people and get them out of the sport, just like in society you have to catch the criminals and get them out of society.

(Aug. 22, 2007)