Gold Rush

by Michael Johnson

'Elite athletes aren't born. They're made.'
Michael Johnson
From a living icon of the Olympic Games – as both an athlete and now as a BBC broadcaster – Gold Rush is a compelling analysis of the fascinating combination of psychological and personal qualities, as well as internal and external factors, that go to create an Olympic champion.


This exciting new book is based on Michael Johnson's own experiences as an iconic four-time Olympic champion, and on the knowledge he has gleaned as a top-class coach and motivational speaker. It also features, uniquely, more than a dozen exclusive and insightful interviews with Olympic legends from across several different sports who between them have claimed more than 50 gold medals over the past 30 years.
In essence, Johnson has assembled his very own Olympic Hall of Fame in assessing the DNA of true champions.
Gold Rush is themed around chapters in which Johnson will discuss each of the key qualities/factors. He expertly feeds in fascinating first-person testimonies from the Olympic legends. In the process he builds up a definitive knowledge bank of expertise and experience from athletes who have been on this fascinating journey, encountered the highs and the lows, but ultimately reached the summit - an Olympic gold medal.
Johnson's interviewees include: Usain Bolt, Carl Lewis, Sally Gunnell, Seb Coe, Daley Thompson, Cathy Freeman, Ian Thorpe, Michael Phelps, Rebecca Adlington, Chris Hoy, Steve Redgrave, Matthew Pinsent, Lennox Lewis and Michael Jordan.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Sports

320 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2011

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Michael Johnson, 43, is one of the most pre-eminent athletes of all time. He has four Olympic and nine World Championship gold medals to his name. At the 1996 Atlanta Games, he won both the 200m and 400m (the only athlete in history to do this at the same Games), and his world record for 200m of 19.32 stood for 12 years until Usain Bolt broke it at the Beijing Games of 2008. He still holds the world record for 400m – 43.18 seconds.
Johnson voluntarily returned his 4x400m relay gold medal from the Sydney Games of 2000 after a team-mate admitted taking performance-enhancing drugs earlier in his career.
Following his retirement, Johnson became a sports pundit with the BBC and has since established himself as one of the most popular and renowned sports broadcasters in the UK. The BBC's coverage of Olympic Games and World and European track-and-field Championships is hinged around his contributions.
He writes a regular column for The Times and owns his own sports training facility, the Michael Johnson Performance Centre, in Texas.
In 2002, he was awarded the Television Pundit of the Year Award by the Royal Television Society.
He lives in San Francisco, California.

Reviews

[Simon Lipson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hi, I'm Michael Johnson. I made history in 1996 by winning the 200 and 400 metres Olympic gold medals. And I broke some tough world records during my stellar career. And I made history. Because I was fast, really fast. Let me ask Sally Gunnell about her Olympic experiences. Sally? 'Well, Michael...' Hey, Sal, did I mention that I made history by winning the 200/400 metres double in Atlanta? Seb Coe, tell me about your Olympic experiences. 'Well, Michael...' Heck, Seb, did I mention that I was just the fastest dude out there and that I made history? Well that's a fact. I was a great athlete. Fast? Oh, yeah. Fast. The fastest. Sure I had a lot of respect for all the other athletes, but I liked to beat them by stupid margins, because I respected them so much. I made history. Steve Redgrave, tell me...aw heck, don't waste your breath because I was so fuckin' great and I made history at the Atlanta Olympics, and darned if I didn't go and do it all again in Sydney. Man, I was great. I made history. Did I mention that? History.

PS. Check out chapter 9 for an in-depth appraisal of my humility and undemonstrative nature. But heck, that's just me. And I made history. 'Cos I was fast, man. The fastest. I made history.

PPS. Did I mention my company, Michael Johnson Performance? We help athletes do good. But this book isn't a promo for Michael Johnson Performance. No way, man. Michael Johnson Performance is just one of the things I do. Michael Johnson performance, that is. Just mentioning it in passing. Michael Johnson Performance. That's Michael Johnson Performance. Got it?

[Orla Macfarlane · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the better sports autobiographies I’ve read. I liked how it wasn’t just about him and his life and career, but he interviewed other athletes, spoke about the state of the sport, the use of drugs in the sport and so much more. I felt more educated than I have after finishing other athletes’ books which was refreshing. Definitely would recommend if you like a sports autobiography.

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

I admire Johnson and his achievements and it's a great idea to try and about makes an Olympic champion, but, in spite of his efforts to make this interesting, this is a little bit dull.

The snippets of interviews with the likes of Seb Coe, Ian Thorpe and Nadia Comaneci are fairly enlightening, but there are only so many times that you can read that the route to success is: focus, training and desire (or synonyms thereof).

Clearly Johnson is an intelligent guy, but that doesn't mean he can write an inspiring book.

I still admire his running exploits and think he's a good commentator, but I can't see a future as an author

[Geraint Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since childhood, I've been a massive fan of Michael Johnson. For that reason I enjoyed the book. But it was a bit of a strange read. I found the book repetitive at times and found myself finding him not very likeable in parts, too.
All in all, I enjoyed it as a fan, but I wouldn't go as far as saying it's a must-read.

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michael Johnston, a superb 200 m and 400 m runner, was an athlete I admired throughout his stellar career. Here he discusses what it takes to be an Olympic champion, drawing on his own and others' experiences. Fascinating

[Dipra Lahiri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dated read by now, written before the London Olympics, when Usain Bolt had won just a couple of medals. The bio-mechanical analysis of sprinting technique is fascinating.

[Mark Beech · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gosh, this was a hard slog. But, I guess replicating the effort in becoming an Olympic champion. It took me over a month to finish the book says everything about this read.

[Vinal Jain · Rating 3 out of 5]

Average book
Couldnt connect with the rhythm of the book .
But great insight into what it takes to be olympian .

[Bradley · Rating 2 out of 5]

A patchy book. I was hoping for a bit more insight than it gave me. Much was made of the interviews he did with other great champions but I guess most of them ended up on the editors floor because it really did not show in the book. What we learnt about the other atheletes I might have got while shaking hands with them at a book signing. Usually an interview was briefly mentioned so Michael could chat about himself a bit more

There was a lot about Michael Johnson which is no problem he was one of the world's great champions. He never seemed to miss an opportunity to plug his sports training academy which got tiresome pretty quickly. If your an elite athelete you should already know about it and if you are not you don't care about it.

Essentially though, he stared at people really hard in the warm up room and then ran really fast on the track in an upright manner which was more efficient than any computer model previously created.

[Rachel Groves · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a non-athlete, who has never run or competed in sport, I found this book really interesting. I was a little worried when Michael Johnson started talking about the technical aspects of his racing days but it's written in a really accessible way and it's quite fascinating how the smallest things can effect an athlete's performance.

This book will suffer a little from being time sensitive having been written in the run up to the London 2012 Olympics. But it's still a fascinating and relevant read with the Olympics done and dusted. It helped to have an Olympics due reading the book as it helped me appreciate what it had to say even more. I suspect though that for athletes, sports people and those interested in giving excellence in their fields it will be a great read whenever you pick it up.

[Rachel Worthington · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this because I respect Michael Johnson for what he achieved as an athlete and his ongoing work as a expert analyst for the BBC. He is not a joker. He's an extremely serious and dedicated man - something that comes across loud and clear in this book. At times I found it a bit dry and an advert for Michael Johnson Performance; but mostly, to be a fascinating insight into the all-encompassing dedication that it takes to succeed at the highest levels in sport. It's not just a matter of running.

[Steve Chilton · Rating 2 out of 5]

A Christmas gift that I thought I'd like much more than I actually did. I love Michael Johnson's contributions to the commentaries on athletics on the box. Somehow in the written word he comes across as smug. I know he achieved a lot and was invincible for a while, but somehow his writing about it wrangles. I am also not sure that I learnt anything from reading the book. So give me Charlie Spedding any day, which has now been republished I see.

[Kirsty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed dipping in and out of this. Even reading just a few pages at a time was inspiring. But, then again, I love athletics, and I really admire Michael Johnson, so it might be a different story if you're coming to it cold.

[Charlotte Corrigan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book I read as part of my secondary research for my EPQ. Truly fascinating to learn about such an outstanding Olympian and champion like Michael Johnson. It was inspirational and exciting. Sports fans must read this!

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

A detailed analysis from 'one who knows'. It's obvious really, genetics, mental strength, organisiation and bloody hard work but there's much more to it than that.

[Kazimiera pendrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was an alright reads emir but not one of the better memoirs that i have read

[Irfanfahim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ich habe durch das Lesen sehr wirklich begeistert.

[Meg]

Expect anecdote + interview snippets and an informed opinion on the training needs of an individual sport like sprinting. Do not expect studies or an awareness of greater social structures or politics. Bonus reference to the "Canadian inferiority complex" because we rooted for Donovan against him (also the British coddle their athletes, now you know.) Imma just go read Endure by Alex Hutchinson or the Sport Gene by Epstein again.