SOUTHAMPTON'S Iwan Thomas will doubtless be delighted to hear that American legend Michael Johnson is all revved up and gunning for 400 metres gold.

Any other year the Texan titan's ominous announcement that "I feel in the best shape since Atlanta '96" would have been like a red rag to a bull for Southampton's European and Commonwealth champion.

But this year it's different.

Thomas is sidelined with an ankle injury that looks like wiping out the whole of the 1999 season and, truth to tell, he'd rather the World title went to a man who is nigh-on impossible to beat than live with the 'if only' factor.

Patriotism aside, the worst-case scenario would surely be to see his great British rival Mark Richardson on top of the medal podium.

"Obviously I'd like Mark to win because he's British, but at the same time I'd be gutted because I'd know I could have won gold," Thomas recently revealed.

When Johnson pulled up in Stockholm recently it looked as if the battle for one-lap gold could be thrown wide open.

But though injury rumours have persisted ever since, Johnson was happy to set the record straight yesterday by revealing that he is fit and primed to become the only athlete to pick up individual golds at all five World Championships of the 1990s.

"The injury in Stockholm was minor," said the world 200m record holder. "I missed a few days training afterwards but I made up that lost time by not competing in Zurich."

Asked the secret of his phenomenal decade of success, Johnson said: "I try to be consistent and take on whoever's ready to run. My career is based on consistency and on reaching the highest level of competition every time I go out there."

Unlike the gregarious Thomas, Johnson is an athlete who prefers to keep himself to himself.

Frequently surly in public, he was recently criticised for refusing to sign autographs for children.

But the 31-year-old speed machine would not rise to the bait when questioned on his public image.

"My policy is that when I'm warming up for a big race, that's what I'm doing," he said. "The meeting promoters pay a lot of me a lot of money to run. Otherwise I'm pleased to sign autographs and I even do children's camps. I love children. I can't be perfect but I do the best I can."

Converted for the new archive on 25 January 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.