HISTORY was fashioned in 19.32 breathtaking seconds in Atlanta last night. Michael Johnson entered his kingdom of legend after the most popular victory to date in the Olympic stadium in the 200 metres final.

In becoming the first to complete the 200-400 double, the man from Dallas fairly destroyed the best sprinters around to set his new world best, an improvement of .34 seconds on the figures which he himself established in the American trials at the same venue in June.

The measure of the quality of the performance was that Frankie Fredericks, in second place, was some three yards adrift at the finish, and still got to within two hundredths of a second of the existing record.

It was unquestionably one of the most exhilarating athletic spectacles of modern years and the big Texan, running in gold laminated shoes, celebrated in the grand manner. He kissed the track as a prelude to a moment of silent prayer. Then, as thousands of flash bulbs exploded in the stands, he unashamedly milked the adulation of the masses on his triumphant lap of honour.

In Oslo, four weeks ago, Johnson dwelt momentarily on the blocks and suffered his first defeat in two years over 200 at the hands of Fredericks. He resolved to put that right last night and achieved it in an astonishing manner.

Running in lane three, he was into top stride within a matter of 20 metres and from there on, it was brilliance all the way. He had already cut back the stagger on Fredericks, running three lanes outside him, before they straightened out for home.

Fredericks appeared to concede at that point, but still ran on strongly enough to edge out Ato Boldon and secure his second silver medal and run the third fastest 200 of all time.

Johnson, the man who the American sporting public ignored for so long, has at last found fulfilled his supreme talent and the crowd paid suitable honour.

Later, with the gold necklace he had carried to victory still visible, he spoke of the greatest moments of his career.

Ever since I was at college had dreamed of this moment," he said. "According to the experts it was impossible, but I knew that if it all fell into place for me I could do it. I cannot describe how it feels like to have broken a record like this. Had it been anywhere else in the world, I think it would have been 19.5 or 19.6 but I was carried along by the crowd.

This sets the record straight after Barcelona. Now I am looking forward to building on it when I return to Europe next week.

Incredibly the record came in Johnson's eighth race in these championships, telling testimony to the resilience of the man who once had ambitions of becoming a professional footballer.

Only marginally less exciting was the 200 metres women's win of Marie Hose Perec. She conjured up an awesome finish to hit the line ahead of Marlene Ottey. It was the second leg of an unprecedented double after her win in the 400 metres championship earlier in the week.

For Ottey, whose misfortune in Olympic competition is now legendary, it was the second time that she had found herself pushed oft the top spot on the presentation podium this week.

Here there was none of the controversy which followed her 100 metres defeat by Gail Devers last Saturday. Yet, the drama was Just as compelling, and for the Jamaican just as disappointing.

With 50 metres to go, it seemed as if she could not fail to win. Away to a flying start, she had built up a significant lead over Perec as they came off the last curve.

Then, phased it seemed by the prospect of impending victory, she suddenly weakened and, in a flash, Perec was in to exact full retribution. Stride by stride, the tall Frenchwoman closed the gap until she was alone and out of reach of the pursuit with 10 metres to go.

There was another popular American win in the final of the men's 400 metres hurdles as Derrick Adkins beat his predecessor as world champion, Samuel Matete, in a time of 47.54 seconds.

Kevin Young's world record of 46.78 seconds was never remotely threatened. Yet it was a fascinating race in which we wondered if Adkins could sustain the impetus of a tremendous start. In the end, the answer was in the affirmative, but not before Mat etc and later Davis had thrown down big challenges to the new title holder over the last two flights of hurdles.