Marion Jones

Calcutta: The legendary Michael Johnson has said Marion Jones’s admission that she took drugs to enhance her performance has made him insecure and defensive about athletics and his place in the history of the game.

In his column for The Daily Telegraph, Johnson wrote: “I have never felt the need to defend myself in the past when our sport has come under attack and people have said that the majority of athletes are doping.

“But it saddens and disappoints me greatly that I now have to feel defensive about my performances, even though no one has ever accused me. But I am running out of ammunition and feel I can no longer defend it against the argument that most of the athletes are doping.”

The four-time Olympic gold medallist said Jones’s apology for using “the clear” is pitiable. “…I didn’t buy Jones’s pitiful apology, since the only difference between the moment she admitted to cheating and the moment she decided to cheat was that in between she got caught.”

To Johnson, it is a matter of great concern that some athletes like Kelli White, Justin Gatlin and Jones would have got away scot-free but for some (bad) luck.

“It has only been by luck, the work of government agencies and the incredible stupidity of some athletes and coaches that these people have been brought to justice. That causes me great concern.

It is in this connection that Johnson feels insecure about his position in the history of athletics. “The proudest moments of my life include the times I stood on the podium to receive my gold medals at Olympic Games and World Championships. I don’t know how bitter you would feel thinking you should have been there but were not because someone who finished ahead of you had cheated.

“For the record, none of the people who finished behind me at any of those championships has to be bitter and wonder what it would have felt like — because I beat them fairly. But one of my biggest concerns is what people now think of me and those performances.

“I know that a small group of people doubted I could do what I did without taking drugs and that’s not because of any allegations or investigations, but because my performances were that good. I’m actually proud of that.

“The fact that I was tested more than 100 times during my career and never tested positive should support the fact that I achieved my success clean. ”