Johnson Comes Through, Blisters World Indoor Mark For 400 Meters In 44.63
Michael Johnson knew he would break his world indoor record in the men’s 400-meter dash at Saturday’s USA-Mobil Indoor Championships - and he was absolutely right, clocking a sensational 44.63 seconds.
Lance Deal had a feeling he would break his world indoor best in the 35-pound weight throw and he also was correct - not once, not twice, but three times, raising the mark by nearly 3 feet to 84 feet, 10-1/4 inches.
At the same time, two American records were broken. Sheila Hudson-Strudwick shattered her U.S. indoor record in the triple jump for the second time in a week, leaping 46-8-1/4, and Carlette Guidry-White took the women’s 200-meter dash record from an absent Gwen Torrence, clocking 22.73.
Johnson clipped a remarkable .34 seconds off the previous record of 44.97 he set last month at Reno, Nev. The victory was his 40th in a row, indoors and outdoors, in the 400.
Runner-up Derek Mills was duly impressed.
“Unbelievable!” he said. “It was the kind of race you like to sit and watch. Unfortunately, I was in it, behind him.”
The 33-year-old Deal, also the American recordholder in the outdoor hammer throw, first threw the weight 81 feet, 11 1/2 inches - 3 inches farther than the previous best of 81-8 1/2 he had set last month. He then improved the mark by more than a foot, throwing 82-11 3/4, before completing his record-shattering series.