Michael Johnson, a four-time Olympic gold medalist, recently reacted to the amazing show of sportsmanship shown by the African relay teams during the World Athletic Relays. The tournament took place in the Bahamas and also provided an opportunity for teams from around the world to book their berths for the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics.
Three African teams namely Nigeria, Liberia, and Ghana booked their places for the Olympics on Sunday courtesy of their superb performances in the respective events. The stand out among them was Nigeria which ensured four out of their five teams qualify for the greatest sporting event of the year.
Led by athletes like Samuel Ogazi and Chidi Okezei the Nigerian men's 4*100m team also finished in the second position just behind the US team with a run time of 3:13.79. On the other hand, Liberia and Ghana secured qualification for one relay event (Men's 4*100m relays) each for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Apart from the team performances, the sight that caught the attention of the netizens was the celebration that the athletes from all of the above-mentioned nations showed after they secured their berths for the Olympics. The athletes were seen dancing around each other cheerfully in the joy of representing Africa at the biggest sporting event of the year.
Michael Johnson, an avid devotee of the track and field discipline. was over the moon seeing this amazing gesture by the African track and field athletes. He took to his X (formerly Twitter) handle to share the post by Citius Meg with the caption:
"I absolutely love this!!!"
Michael Johnson nostalgic about seeing athletes secure Olympic spots
Michael Johnson has been one of the standout figures when it comes to the American track and field circuit. Johnson's decorated career has been one to look up to for numerous aspiring track and field athletes.
The 56-year-old too being a father figure in the discipline has been constantly looking to do his bit to motivate the young athletes and improve the sport as a whole. He is also quite hyperactive on his social media handles reacting to the recent happening in the sport.
Recently the Texas native reacted nostalgically to all the athletes who secured qualification for the 2024 Olympics during the World Athletics Relays.
In a tweet, Johnson stated:
"Watching the excitement and jubilation of the athletes knowing they punched their ticket to the Olympics is so great to see!"
In recent years Johnson has also been constantly grinding to launch a new track and field tournament which will provide better dynamics to the track and field discipline as well as give better opportunities to the athletes.