This week's perspective from Joe Chidley: We’re always talking about the need for authenticity when talking to the press, and this week four-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Johnson, who still holds the world record in the 400-m sprint more than a decade after he set it, gave a master class in class. The subject was Oscar Pistorius, a South African 400-m runner with two prosthetic legs, who is trying to qualify for the 2012 Olympics amid substantial controversy over whether he should be allowed to compete. Pistorius had originally been disqualified from the Olympics in 2008 by the IAAF, which decided that his carbon fibre blade legs might give him an unfair advantage over fully-limbed competitors. But that decision has since been reversed on appeal. Now, with the London Games approaching and Pistorius running well, the debate has resurfaced. Asked about what he thought of Pistorius potentially competing in the Olympics, Johnson – a friend of the South African’s – played his hand nicely. “I think – and Oscar and I have discussed this – that I would not have made the decision” to let Pistorius compete, but he added that now that the decision has been made, “I’m very supportive of him and I want to see him do the best he can possibly do.” What we like about this response is the interjection “and Oscar and I have discussed this”. Often, it’s the small but telling touches that make the difference between a successful interview and a missed opportunity, and here the fact that the two runners have talked about a sensitive issue is a real proof point of Johnson’s authenticity.
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