Johnson says his 200 world record could fall to Bolt
EUGENE, Oregon (Reuters) - Michael Johnson's 200 meters world record could soon fall to Jamaican Usain Bolt, the former Olympic sprint champion said on Saturday.
"I'm ready to kiss it goodbye ... if he keeps on doing what he's doing," Johnson said at the U.S. Olympic trials.
Previously known as a 200 specialist, Bolt broke the 100 world record last month when he clocked 9.72 seconds at a meeting in New York.
The Jamaican is now likely to chase Johnson's 200 world record of 19.32 seconds set by the American at the 1996 Olympics.
"If he is as technically sound at 200 or the improvement at 200 in technique matches what we have seen at 100, there's no telling what he is going to run," added Johnson.
The lanky Bolt's personal best at 200, a Jamaican record 19.75 seconds in 2007, is more than 4/10ths of a second slower than Johnson's mark.
"He is not the most technically sound 200 meters runner and whatever technical flaws you have at 200 are going to be highlighted at 100," said Johnson.
"But you take a look at his 100 when he broke the world record ... he has fixed a lot of things in the off-season.
"He is 6-foot-5 and he looked like 5-5 or 5-6 getting out of the blocks," added Johnson.
(Editing by Tony Jimenez)
