Michael Johnson

Olympic and World Champion.
12x Gold 0x Silver 0x Bronze
2x RTS TV Commentator of the Year
Business Performance Speaker & Coach

Michael Johnson is a legendary four-times Olympic gold world record holder famed as the best 200 and 400-metre sprinter in the history of athletics.

In a career spanning 11 years, Michael dominated the international scene where he amassed a spectacular 19 international gold medals.

As an athlete, Michael achieved many firsts, becoming the first man ever to be ranked number 1 in the world at both 200 metres and 400 metres, the first man to win both events at an Olympic Games and the first man to win consecutive Olympic gold medals in the 400m.

Michael broke the world record for 200m and 400m during his career and retired in 2000 with four Olympic gold medals and nine World Championship gold medals to his name.

Working on the principle that to be successful in anything you must start with a goal, Michael believed that only the individual can determine what success means for them. For him, it was not being the fastest man, but becoming the best athlete that he could possibly be. It was this goal that enabled him to map out the steps he had to take and motivated him to train hard every day and to commit to the sacrifices involved.

Since retiring from athletics, Michael has used his philosophy of success and goal setting and applied it to various business ventures and projects supporting young people.

Michael has also established himself as a leading corporate motivational speaker having worked with companies such as Microsoft, Sony, UBS, Bank of Scotland, and Proctor and Gamble. Michael is also a regular on British TV, forming part of the BBC Sport athletics commentary team.

Contact Great British Speakers today to book legendary athlete Michael Johnson for your next event.

Type Of Talent

After DinnerBlack History MonthInfluencerKeynoteMotivationalOlympians/ParalympiansResilienceSpeakerSportTalent

More About Michael Johnson

Michael Johnson credits his achievements to a consistent philosophy of success that he applied over his 11 year career. He learnt early on that the amount of success he experienced was directly related to his level of effort. This coupled with a very clear goal has been career to his phenomenal success. His philosophy of success honed during his career has been applied to his various ventures since retiring from athletics.

In 2024, Michael was part of the BBC’s athletics presenting team at the Paris Olympic Games.

Michael Johnson Career Post Athletics

Michael Johnson Performance keynote sports speaker at Great British Speakers

One of his the ventures established since retiring is Michael Johnson Performance, a sports performance training company that provides training and consulting to professional athletes, sports teams and youth athletes all over the world.

More recently he founded Michael Johnson Young Leaders, providing young people from around the world who have faced and overcome adversity with the tools to achieve a better future for themselves and their communities.

By focusing on sport, leadership and community engagement, the Michael Johnson Young Leaders programme gives them the confidence, skills and resources to make a positive impact on the future.

Participants experience a once-in-a lifetime journey, which begins at the cutting-edge Michael Johnson Performance Centre and is followed by a year-long program of mentoring and support in their own communities and continued through a lifetime of credible connections and networks.

Michael has also achieved success as a television commentator and personality, working for BBC sport. Away from the corporate world he serves on the board of the Laureus World Sports Academy, whose Sport For Good Foundation seeks to achieve social change through the use of sport for children affected by social and political hardships.

Michael Johnson international sports Olympian keynote motivational speaker at Great British Speakers

Michael Johnson | Speaking Topics

Michael has established himself as a sought-after corporate speaker, working with large global companies such as Microsoft and Proctor & Gamble. His talks can be adapted to the needs of the organisation and audience but popular topics include:

– Motivation
– Goal setting
– Performing under pressure
– Data-driven performance
– Overcoming obstacles
– Culture
– Entrepreneurial experience
– Philanthropy and sport for development

Hire legendary four-times Olympic gold world record holder and inspirational speaker Michael Johnson for your next corporate talk or event by contacting us at bookings@greatbritishtalent.com or call +44 1753 439 289 to speak to a member of the Great British Talent team.

Contact Us

Testimonials

“I just wanted to send a quick email to say thank you and to let you know what a huge success Michael was at the event. People were raving about his presentation and the feedback from clients was very positive.”

Goldman Sachs

“I just wanted to write a quick word to say thank you to Michael for coming to our Baillie Gifford conference at Gleneagles and presenting so spellbindingly at our dinner. The whole of the conferhttps://vimeo.com/907204334ence was a buzz after his performance and our clients were still talking about it the next day.

He was also generous with his time – coming down for drinks at 6.30 pm and staying with us till almost 11.30 pm while people took selfies. From a personal point of view, I hugely enjoyed talking with Michael over dinner and introducing him on stage. Apart from being an athletics legend, he is a very intelligent and articulate guy and we had a super chat on a number of topics. Just a class, class act all around.”

Baillie Gifford

“A quick note to thank you for your help and also to pass on our – and HSBC’s – huge thanks to Michael for his time in Dubai. He was superb and I hope he also enjoyed his first live rugby experience.”

HSBC/Hill & Knowlton – HSBC’s rugby sevens sponsorship