Michael Johnson screams in triumph at the end of the 200m final at the Atlanta Olympics.
Michael Johnson screams in triumph at the end of the 200m final at the Atlanta Olympics.
Michael Johnson screams in triumph at the end of the 200m final at the Atlanta Olympics.
Michael Johnson screams in triumph at the end of the 200m final at the Atlanta Olympics.

Michael Johnson made a mockery of the clock


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Michael Johnson was already accustomed to achieving the seemingly impossible by the time he arrived at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. This was an athlete whose running style was utterly unique, contradicting the conventional wisdom of the coaching manuals. Before the Texan arrived on the scene, world-class sprinters had been told to lean forward into their stride and lift their knees high.

Johnson ran bolt upright, with swinging arms and rapid pitter-patter steps - and achieved astounding results. Never before had an athlete possessed the blistering speed and muscular endurance to win at 200m and 400m. Yet Johnson completed the double at the 1995 World Championships in Gothenburg, running sub-20secs in the 200m and under 44secss in the 400. It was hardly surprising that the media dubbed him "Superman", although the athlete himself always seemed unfazed following each of his remarkable feats.

After breaking Pietro Mennea's 200m world record - the most stubborn and resistant mark in track and field - at the 1996 US Olympic trials, he said nonchalantly: "I wasn't shocked - I knew if I focused on the 200m I could probably break the record and break it significantly." This cool diffidence was shattered on August 1, 1996, when Johnson produced an astounding, career-defining performance to win the Olympic 200m.

As he crossed the line, he flung his arms wide and his eyes were alight, revealing a passion he'd rarely shown before. He then glanced over at the trackside clock and was so taken aback that he let out a loud scream and slumped to the floor on all fours. The digital display read 19.32, which meant Johnson had smashed his own world record by such a margin that it was akin to Bob Beamon lowering the long jump record by two metres back in 1968.

The bronze medallist, Ato Boldon, was so startled that he thought it insufficient to shake hands with Johnson, instead choosing to bow before his vanquisher. "I can't describe what it feels like to break the record by that much," Johnson said afterwards in his deep-chested Texan drawl. "I thought 19.5 was possible, but 19.3 is unbelievable." Johnson had arrived in Atlanta on unfinished business. Four years earlier, he had been hot favourite for the 200m in Barcelona, but a piece of spoiled ham had wrecked his chances.

After missing a week of training and losing 10lb because of food poisoning, he failed to even qualify for the final, let alone win a medal. The 28-year-old was desperate to make amends with an historic 200m and 400m double in front of US fans in Atlanta. There were suggestions that this pressure might be getting to him after he was beaten in a 200m for the first time in 22 races by Frankie Fredericks of Namibia in Oslo on July 5.

It was the first time he had been beaten when fit and healthy and he vowed to "go home, train hard and come back to win in Atlanta". The first leg of his double bid was completed in spectacular fashion on July 29, when he won the 400m with a devastating time of 43.49, leaving silver medallist Roger Black trailing by almost a second. Three days later, Johnson was back for the final of the 200m, his eighth race in just seven days.

He was drawn in lane three, two outside his chief rival for the gold, Fredericks. Wearing his trademark gold spikes, Johnson stumbled slightly at the start, before recovering and making up the stagger on Cuba's Ivan Garcia in lane four. As he shot out of the curve, the American had a slight lead on Fredericks, which stretched inexorably down the home straight. "It was the biggest challenge of my life and I am very proud I was able to pull it off," the 28-year-old said emotionally afterwards.

His achievement made him an Olympic legend who could rank alongside the likes of Jesse Owens and Carl Lewis. Long after the race had finished, Boldon was still stunned by his rival's performance, despite having had time to digest what he had seen. "19.32," the Trinidadian laughed in bewilderment, "that's not a time, that's my dad's birthday." sports@thenational.ae

Scorecard

Scotland 220

K Coetzer 95, J Siddique 3-49, R Mustafa 3-35

UAE 224-3 in 43,5 overs

C Suri 67, B Hameed 63 not out

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
THE CLOWN OF GAZA

Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah 

Starring: Alaa Meqdad

Rating: 4/5

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What the law says

Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.

“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.

“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”

If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.

The specs: 2018 Mercedes-Benz E 300 Cabriolet

Price, base / as tested: Dh275,250 / Dh328,465

Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder

Power: 245hp @ 5,500rpm

Torque: 370Nm @ 1,300rpm

Transmission: Nine-speed automatic

Fuel consumption, combined: 7.0L / 100km

Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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Results

2pm: Maiden (TB) Dh60,000 (Dirt) 1,200m, Winner: Mouheeb, Tom Marquand (jockey), Nicholas Bachalard (trainer)

2.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh68,000 (D) 1,200m, Winner: Honourable Justice, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer

3pm: Handicap (TB) Dh84,000 (D) 1,200m, Winner: Dahawi, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi

3.30pm: Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (D) 1,200m, Winner: Dark Silver, Fernando Jara, Ahmad bin Harmash

4pm: Maiden (TB) Dh60,000 (D) 1,600m, Winner: Dark Of Night. Antonio Fresu, Al Muhairi.

4.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh68,000 (D) 1,600m, Winner: Habah, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson

The specs

Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors

Power: Combined output 920hp

Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic

Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km

On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025

Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000

In numbers: China in Dubai

The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000

Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000

Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent

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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
  • Priority access to new homes from participating developers
  • Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
  • Flexible payment plans from developers
  • Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
  • DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Specs

Engine: 51.5kW electric motor

Range: 400km

Power: 134bhp

Torque: 175Nm

Price: From Dh98,800

Available: Now

Starring: Jamie Foxx, Angela Bassett, Tina Fey

Directed by: Pete Doctor

Rating: 4 stars

Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
  • Flexible work arrangements
  • Pension support
  • Mental well-being assistance
  • Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
  • Financial well-being incentives 

Frankenstein in Baghdad
Ahmed Saadawi
​​​​​​​Penguin Press

The more serious side of specialty coffee

While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.

The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.

Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”

One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.

Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms. 

The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting 

2. Prayer 

3. Hajj 

4. Shahada 

5. Zakat 

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