I was in a waiting room the other day and just flicked through the sports section of one of those free news papers they hand out. I saw a headline that really moved me and I read on.

It seems that Michael Johnson, who won 5 gold metals in the Olympics, has taken the courageous step of deciding to return his 4 x 400m gold from the Sydney Games to the International Olympic Committee as he says it is “tainted”. It seems that his friend and once team mate, Antonio Pettigrew, has owned up to taking performance enhancing drugs during the games and so Johnson has decided the medal was won unfairly and wants to give it back.

He is quoted as as saying “I know that the medal was not fairly won and that it is dirty and so I have moved it from the location where I have always kept my medals because it doesn’t belong there…. and it doesn’t belong to me, so I will be returning it to the IOC because I don’t want it. It was not won fairly. I am deeply disappointed and saddened.”

Well fair play to him, you have to applaud the sincerity with which he seem to be undertaking this unique action. I think it’s wonderful and hope that sports people from all disciplines watch and learn how a true champion acts. Well done Michael.

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