Johnson calls for athletics to learn lessons from progressive PTO
Michael Johnson called on athletics to take a leaf out of the Professional Triathletes Organisation's book to help its stars convey their stories and make the sport a more attractive commodity. Sprinting icon Johnson is the former 200m and 400m world record holder but is now educating himself in long-distance swim bike run and was a PTO ambassador at the recent US Open in his hometown of Dallas.
Ad The athlete-owned PTO, founded in 2020, is aiming to transform triathlon by professionalising the longer-than-Olympic distance arm of the sport and revolutionising coverage having signed Warner Bros Discovery as global broadcaster. AthleticsJohnson: Wightman can emulate inspirational exploits of Farah and Ennis-Hill24/09/2022 AT 12:54 And Johnson believes his sport could benefit from a similarly assertive and forward-thinking approach to marketing athletics rather than leaving things entirely down to the individuals involved.
The 55-year-old explained: «Some athletes get that they need to be an entertainer to get fans into the sport. »But I think we need to be careful when it comes to track and field as this sport tends to put the onus completely on the athletes, so they relieve themselves of any responsibility with that.