PORTLAND, Ore. - Michael Johnson setting the men's 200m world record at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta has been named the greatest moment in U.S. track and field in the last 25 years.

Johnson, who broke the long-standing 200m world record earlier that summer at the 1996 Olympic Trials in Atlanta with his blistering 19.66, was looking to make history as the first man ever to win the 200m and 400m gold medals at the same Olympics.

Having won the Olympic 400m gold medal earlier in the competition, Johnson placed his golden shoes into the blocks for his eighth race in six days, the men's 200m final.

When the gun sounded Johnson had a slight stumble out of the blocks and still completed the first 100m around the curve in an amazing 10.12. The 83,000 fans on hand stood and screamed as Johnson covered the second 100 meters in a ridiculous split of 9.20, burying a tremendous field in the Beamonesque time of 19.32. Johnson's winning margin of nearly four meters was the widest in an Olympic 200m final since Jesse Owens' victory at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.

Nobody, including Johnson, could believe the time, which according to the IAAF's decathlon scoring tables equates to 9.72 for 100 meters. Johnson's 200m race in Atlanta is believed by many to be the single greatest track and field performance in history.

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