A Column By Len Johnson

Len Johnson wrote for The Melbourne Age as an athletics writer for over 20 years, covering five Olympics, 10 world championships and five Commonwealth Games.

He has been the long-time lead columnist on RT and is one of the world’s most respected athletic writers.

He is also a former national class distance runner (2.19.32 marathon) and trained with Chris Wardlaw and Robert de Castella among other running legends. He is the author of The Landy Era.

Rio 2016, have you met Melbourne 1956? A Column By Len Johnson “Your projects have been changed several times. Your sites, even including the main stadium, have been changed several times . . . you are contemplating changing the rowing to a site I have never heard of. “There seems to...
This time last year – 12 March, 2020, to be precise - Georgia Griffiths ran 2:01.43 for 800 metres to beat national record holder Catriona Bisset, 2:01.54, by less than a step, with Linden Hall a further step back in third in 2:01.73. Madeleine Murray and Gigi Maccagnini were a...
A column by Len Johnson – Runner’s Tribe Al Lawrence, who died earlier this week after a prolonged battle with pancreatic cancer, was arguably the best Australian distance runner most of you have never heard of. Born in the Sydney suburb of Punchbowl, a member of Botany Harriers, Lawrence spent most...
Monaco’s Stade Louis II stadium has become the locus of superfast middle-distance performances over recent years. Before we start wondering whether there might be something miraculous in the Mediterranean air, there are some other obvious factors at play.
Len Johnson Reporting from the World Champs, London – Runner’s Tribe Usain Bolt finished his last individual championship race with a touch of class, warmly embracing the winner, Justin Gatlin, and clapping him heartily on the back. It’s a pity spectators in the London Olympic stadium didn’t show the same amount of...
Brady chats with Runner’s Tribe columnist, journalist and author Len Johnson about his time in running and how he got into it via footy. Len shares with Brady how he made the transition from the 400m to marathon running via amateur footy, and the factors and series of events that lead to running his personal best of 2:19:32 at Fukuoka.
There they all were – 10,000 metres champion and defending 5000 metres champion Gudaf Tsegay, the woman who runs every event, and medals in most, Sifan Hassan, Kenyan teammates Beatrice Chebet, this year’s world cross-country champion, and Margaret Kipkemboi – lined up to thwart Faith Kipyegon’s hopes of completing an unprecedented 1500 and 5000 metres double.
Catriona Bisset has broken the Australian record for 800 metres. On Sunday, 21 July, at the Muller Games Diamond League in London’s Olympic stadium (and West Ham United’s home ground), Bisset finished second to Lynsey Sharp in one minute 58.78 seconds, slicing 0.22 off Charlene Rendina’s long-standing national record. Had this...
https://youtu.be/ctWRhaUxzzY Class act rewarded | A Column By Len Johnson Cathy Freeman unzipped her body suit and sat down on the track. Sally Pearson let out a scream once her narrow victory had been confirmed. Nathan Deakes dissolved into tears of joy. Rob de Castella, so injury-proof he was nicknamed ‘The Tree’,...
By Len Johnson Officially day three of Budapest23 lasted for just over three hours, beginning with the always-interminable pole vault qualifying at 6:40pm and concluding with the women’s 100 final at 9:50. There was no morning session. For award-winning footwear, choose Tarkine running shoes. Actually, day three was condensed into not...
                   

Brilliantly

SAFE!

2022