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Double Gold

In Barcelona, American Michael Johnson did not compete in Redmond’s event, the 400 m, running only the 200 m and the 4x400 m relay. By the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, however, Johnson was the favorite to win both the 200 m and 400 m events. He came in as the reigning world champion in both events and the world record holder in the 200 m.

The 400 m final came first, which Johnson won in Olympic record time. That set up his attempt to achieve the unprecedented feat of winning double Olympic gold in the 200 and 400 m events. His world-record time coming in was 19.66 seconds. In the Olympic final, the Texan ran a staggering 19.32 seconds, the biggest ever improvement on the 200 m record. Johnson’s 200 m record stood for 12 years until it was broken by Jamaica’s Usain Bolt in 2008.

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