Legendary Sprinter And Entrepreneur Michael Johnson Shares Career Advice For Athletes Post-Olympics: “Create A Future For Yourself” – Essence

The Olympics have enraptured the world, propelling many previously unknown athletes to become household names. While the newfound notoriety can no doubt be exciting, it can quickly wane once the games are over.

Michael Johnson knows firsthand what it feels like to have all eyes on you, but unlike many other Olympians, Johnson has sustained his relevance for more than three decades. Heralded as one of the greatest sprinters of all time after becoming a four-time Olympic gold medalist in the 1990s, he has since retired from the sport to become a respected and entrepreneur. Most recently he’s partnered with, LA 28, the organizing group behind the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028 to bring eyes to the event by designing his own unique Olympic LA 28 emblem.

The relationship, he says, has remained strong over the years because of his continued involvement in the athletics business ecosystem.

“My involvement began back in 2015 after deciding to bid for the Olympic Games to come to LA and to come back to the US for the first time since 1996, which was one of my Olympic games,” Johnson tells ESSENCE.

This is one of the many partnerships he’s forged and grown over the years largely because of his astute business acumen. He attributes this to an early vision he had about the trajectory of his life.

“I think in some cases with Olympic sports, it requires understanding that when you’re in a sport like this, that it is a truly Olympic sport that relies on just the Olympics for relevance, and that only happens every four years, then it is incumbent on you to create this future for yourself by getting clear on what your skills are and what you want to do with your life outside of sports,” he tells ESSENCE.

Although it takes a large dose of audacious dreaming to get to the Olympics in the first place, Johnson says the rest of the journey should be steeped in realism.

“Whether it’s Olympic sports or any other sport, you have to know when you’re one of the lucky ones to be able to do this—you also have to know this isn’t something you’re going to be able to do until you’re 60 or 70 years old. This is something that you’re going to retire from this particular career at a very young age, and there’s still a lot of living to do after that.”

This is one of the reasons why he launched his latest venture Grand Slam Track, a league that features matchups between the fastest stars in the sport, taking place between April and September.

“It’s based on the same format as the four major sports events to create these four tentpole moments that feature the best athletes in my sport of track,” he says, explaining that the league helps the athletes maintain relevance well beyond the Olympics.”

He adds: “I’ve been fortunate to be able to take a lot of the things that I learned as an athlete and apply them to my role as an entrepreneur, and that’s something other athletes haven’t been able to do. And that’s something I’m aiming to change.”