Posted: July 29, 2005

Athletics: Johnson: Demus Has A 'Decent Shot' At Golden League Jackpot

By Bob Ramsak, Track Profile

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Oslo, NORWAY -- Of the three athletes remaining in the hunt for the one million dollar TDK Golden League jackpot, four-time 110m hurdles world champion Allen Johnson says that American 400m hurdler Lashinda Demus has a “decent shot” to capture the sport’s biggest prize.

“She’s a very, very talented athlete,” said Johnson, who trains on the same track with the 2-year-old hurdler. “And I think that sometime in the future, if she’s really determined, she will break the world record. I think that she is talented enough that she can be one of the legends in her event and in the sport.”

Prior to her wins in the Paris and Rome Golden League fixtures, the 22-year-old Demus, the world junior recordholder in the event, captured this year’s national title with a world-leading 53.35 performance, a personal best. With her win in Rome, she extended her unbeaten streak this year to eight.

Also remaining in the hunt is Christine Arron of France, the European record holder in the 100m, and Tatyana Lebedeva, the Olympic long jump champion, who leads her main event, the triple jump.

But Johnson admits that the odds are against both Arron and Demus.

“The 100 is tough,” he said of Arron’s chances. “Unless you dominate a sprint event, you make one small mistake it’s easier to lose. In the triple jump you get six opportunities to put your best jump out there.”

Johnson pulled out of both the Super Grand Prix in Lausanne and Rome’s Golden Gala Golden League meets in early July, mainly as a precaution when he felt some minor spasms in his left calf. Now, he said, “I’m 100 percent healthy. I think I should pick up right where I left off after Paris where I ran 13.04.”

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