They were the Johnsons who figured to wax the competition, the two likeliest gold medalists among the men on the U.S. Olympic track and field team.
One of them, decathlete Dave, spent five minutes Wednesday thinking he had lost all chance for any medal.
The other, 200-meter runner Michael, wondered all week what kind of chance he would have.
Dave Johnson wound up down but not out.
Michael Johnson wound up out but not down.
His failure to make Thursday`s final in the 200 meters was probably the most shocking turnabout for a U.S. Olympic favorite since 1952. That was when long jumper George Brown did not make the final after coming into the Olympics with a two-year win streak and the second-longest jump ever.
Johnson finished sixth in one of Wednesday`s two semifinals of the 200 meters with a time of 20.78 seconds, well off his personal best of 19.79 to win the U.S. Olympic Trials in late June. Only the top four in each heat qualified for the final.
”I kind of knew in the back of my mind this could happen,” Johnson said. ”I kind of prepared myself for it, even though I had confidence going in.”
Johnson, the reigning world champion from Dallas, had lost some of his confidence when he contracted a virus after competing July 13 in Salamanca, Spain. The virus, which Johnson thought came from bad food, caused him to lose 10 pounds and more than a week of practice.
”All the past week, my endurance hasn`t been there,” Johnson said. ”I was hoping it would get better as the rounds went on.”
Johnson ran 20.80 in the first round and 20.55 in the second. Meanwhile, teammate Mike Marsh was burning up the track, with a 20.08 in the second round and a 19.73 in the semis.
”I may break the world record later this year . . . when I`m Michael Johnson again,” said Michael Johnson, speaking for himself. ”I won`t come back until I`m Michael Johnson again.”
Dave Johnson was wondering whether he would come back for the fourth event of the decathlon after nearly being eliminated from medal contention in the third-the shot put.
The scenario was almost an eerie replay of what happened in the U.S trials, when pre-Olympic favorite Dan O`Brien failed to make the Olympic team after clearing no height in the pole vault.
”The shot put isn`t supposed to have those things happen,” Johnson said.
Each decathlete gets three attempts in the shot put, and Johnson clearly fouled the first two. When an official raised a red foul flag on the third, Johnson was on the verge of scoring no points in the event and contemplating dropping out.
”I thought for sure I was gone, that there was nothing I would be able to do,” Johnson said. ”I pleaded my case a little bit, but I thought it wouldn`t work out. Most of the time, there is nothing you can do about it.”
Johnson got lucky. Jose-Maria Estruch, the chief shot put official, overruled the fellow Spaniard who had called the foul, Celso Rodriguez, after a lengthy discussion.
Normally, that would have led the officials to measure where Johnson`s third throw had landed. But that mark could no longer be definitely located, so Estruch gave Johnson a fourth throw.
With some 20,000 fans at the Wednesday morning session jeering him, Johnson recorded a personal best of 50 feet 1 3/4 inches. That not only kept him in medal contention but moved him from 13th to ninth place among the 36 competitors.
The French, Spanish and Czechoslavak delegations immediately protested the concession of a fourth throw to Johnson, but their protest was rejected by the international track federation`s jury of appeals.
”I wasn`t worried about the protest,” Johnson said.
It bothered him more that the fans continued jeering when he went on to the fourth event, the high jump. His performance there and in Wednesday`s final event, the 400 meters, were both subpar.
”It gets you down to have that kind of negative experience,” Johnson said. ”I took it personally at first.”
Johnson finished the first day of the two-day competition in ninth place with 4,154 points. The top three are Paul Meier of Germany (4,510), Robert Zmelik of Czechoslovakia (4,435) and Antonio Penalver of Spain (4,357).
Since Johnson holds the world record for second-day score, he is still capable of winning the competition.
”A lot of times, the decathlon winner is just the guy who sticks around and tries the hardest,” he said.
For the Johnsons, sticking around was hard enough.
