Williams calls on Olympic hero Michael Johnson

Williams has announced an interesting new partnership with the fitness organisation run by former US Olympic hero Michael Johnson.

Johnson is the only man to have won the 200m and 400m golds in the same Olympics, a feat he achieved in Atlanta in 1996, and is also the only man to have defended the 400m title, having triumphed again in Sydney in 2000. He also won a relay gold, and held multiple world records.

He opened the Michael Johnson Performance Center in 2007. Williams says that the intention is for MJP to “provide an intensive training programme for the team’s pit crew personnel as well as conducting an evaluation of the team’s training regime.”

Johnson, latterly a TV commentator, has been an occasional spectator at Grands Prix in the past, and he expressed a keen interest in the sport when I interviewed him in Monaco in 2009.

Regarding the new deal, Frank Williams said: “I had the privilege of first meeting Michael at the Belgian Grand Prix in the late 1990s. I have always admired the dedication required to be an Olympic Champion. The attention to detail and the commitment required is what sets these extraordinary individuals apart from the rest of us.

“When Michael and I met again recently he explained how he had established a company that specialized in improving athletic performance. I was extremely keen to learn how he could help our team as there seemed to be a lot of areas of common interest.  Michael’s sporting achievements speak for themselves, and the principles he used to become the fastest man in the world are certainly transferable into our own hugely competitive field.”

Johnson added: “I am confident that the experience and biomechanics expertise of the MJP staff that has benefitted numerous American football athletes, Premier League football teams, and Olympic federations, can also benefit the Williams F1 Team pit crew in their goal to cut hundredths and even tenths of a second from their pit stop times.”