Along a similar vein to that espoused by Matthew Syed in his book Bounce: The Myth of Talent and the Power of Practice, Johnson cites the key factor as being hard work; and a lot of it. Of course the talent has to be there in the first place, but at the truly elite level the majority of athletes are all equally talented (except in the freakish Bolt’s case of course), so what is it that makes the difference? And what is it that means that a possibly less talented athlete can achieve more than some with greater natural gifts?
Drawing on his own experiences not only from his time as a competitor, but also as a mentor, coach and motivational speaker, Johnson discusses various key elements from training, conditioning, focus and mental strength through the temptations of, and his contempt for, performance enhancing drugs in sport. Adding in numerous interviews and discussions with many other truly elite sporting stars from Michaels Phelps and Jordan to Steve Redgrave, Daley Thompson and Chris Hoy brings some extra weight to the point being made, although the mantra is roughly the same; work hard and then work even harder. It is of course interesting to have the views of such luminaries, but the overall point remains that espoused by Johnson initially; that “Elite athletes aren’t born. They’re made.”
There is more to it than that of course. All the hard work in the world wouldn’t enable me to run a sub-45 second 400 metres sadly, but in separating several finely honed athletes, the point is valid and is backed up throughout with countless examples. Johnson demonstrates how talent alone isn’t sufficient to reach the pinnacle and it makes for quite an inspiring read for those with an interest in performance and coaching, or those who have marvelled at such exploits in any sporting field. The dedication to reaching the top is as awe inspiring as Johnson’s own sporting exploits.
There are a few too many mentions of his company Michael Johnson Performance for my liking, but they don’t ruin what is a decent if limited read, all told with the kind of relentless authority that we’ve come to expect from Johnson. He comes across, like on television, as being measured and knowledgeable and having the ability to put his viewpoint across. The message can become slightly repetitive, but that does have the effect of ramming the point home.
This is all discussed with the recurring theme of Johnson’s own sporting triumphs and travails in Olympics past, to which he alludes many times throughout, which give an autobiographical feel to some parts that will appeal to many. But it stops short of merely being an autobiography and head into the greater depth of assessing elite performance. In my opinion this makes it all the better and results in a fascinating read from a legendary performer.
- Aidan Williams http://thesportsbookreview.com
Publisher - Harper Sport (5th July 2012)
Date of Publication - July 5, 2012