Donovan Bailey v Michael Johnson: The night hype met hybrid

Twenty years ago today, the argument over the world’s fastest person would be settled once and for all with the meeting of Olympic sprint champions Donovan Bailey and Michael Johnson at the hybrid distance of 150m. Robert O’Shea outlines what happened.

“HE didn’t pull up at all — he’s just a chicken.”

It wasn’t the first time Michael Johnson had been called a chicken, though it usually referred to his running posture. The American used to eat up track with a stiff-looking straight-back technique and short piston stride. As a child, his friends laughed at him for running “funny”. He laughed back.