World Champ Finishes Fifth Against Modest 200 Field

Only 12 days after basking in the glory of winning the world 400-meter title, Olympic champion and world 200-meter record-holder Michael Johnson finished fifth against lightly regarded opposition Sunday.

Beaten by three Brits and a Latvian in a 200 at Crystal Palace, Johnson quickly left the meet with his agent, Brad Hunt, without reappearing for the 1,600-meter relay nor explaining why he performed so poorly.

It was Johnson’s third defeat of the year, the first coming in a head-to-head match over 150 meters against Donovan Bailey, the other over 400 meters at Paris June 25, when he also finished fifth.

Troubled by leg injuries during the World Championships at Athens, Johnson arrived in London short of training and speed, especially for the 200, and never was in contention to win.

He made a strong finish, but it was too late to win the race, which went to Welshman Doug Turner in 20.73 seconds. Another Briton, Marcus Adam, placed second, and was followed by Julian Golding, a member of the British team that earned the 400-meter relay bronze at Athens, and Sergei Insakov of Latvia.

Johnson, who set the world record of 19.32 at the 1996 Olympics, was timed in 20.87.

“He looked to me that his heart just wasn’t in it,” Turner said of Johnson.