Michael Johnson Labelled ‘Racist’ Over Remarks At Oregon22

Summary

• Michael Johnson questions records set at World Athletics Championships
• Johnson sceptical over Nigerian Tobi Amusan world record in 100m hurdles
• Social media turns on Johnson and calls him racist for his remarks

The World Athletics Championships (WCH) in Oregon is getting a lot of attention from around the world as some of the best athletes across the world compete in a variety of events to prove that they are the best in the world.

The WCH is getting global media coverage and some of the top TV channels have hired former world champs to commentate and share their analysis.

Michael Johnson Questions Records Set At WCH

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) hired Michael Johnson who was a star performer in the 90s winning 8 gold medals in track and field events during his illustrious career. Once the events were over during the weekend, Johnson went on Twitter and questioned some of the records that the performers sent.

Johnson highlighted the record set by Nigerian Tobi Amusan in the 100 meter hurdles. Amusan finished first in the semi-final run with a time of 12:12 seconds which created a new world record. She beat the previous record held by Kendra Harrison by 0.08 seconds. The American Harrison has held on to this record since 2016.

Johnson said he had his doubts whether the timers were right at the WCH because it seemed rather incredulous for Amusan to beat the world record by 0.08 seconds. He also pointed out that his concerns were due to 12 personal best (PB) performances and 5 national records. His doubts were alleviated when Cindy Sember who set a new PB and national record claimed she was surprised as she felt she was running slow.

Michael Johnson Accused Of Racism

A number of users on social media lashed out at Johnson and claimed that his remarks had a racist angle to them.

Johnson acknowledged that his Twitter feed was filled with racist allegations which he dismissed as dumbassery!

Johnson pointed out that he had not singled out any particular athlete but was making a general comment. He said as a pundit for the BBC it was his job to analyse and make comments on the WCH. Johnson backed up his comments by saying that he had raised concerns over the timing of 28 individuals and not 1!

He further backed his argument by claiming in the 100m hurdles, 12 out of the 24 semi-finalists had their best times recorded. The WCH is yet to respond to the allegations over incorrect timers!