Michael Johnson’s company adds Rupp & Other Stars to client list

The Senior is now part of Superman’s family.

Galen Rupp, who recently completed his senior season winning six NCAA titles — one of the most decorated seasons in NCAA history , is the newest client of Michael Johnson’s athlete management company.

Johnson founded Ultimate Performance Sport Management, which handles the endorsements of Jeremy Wariner, Ebonie Floyd, Natasha Hastings, and Jackie Johnson.

“When I retired in 2001, I felt that I was uniquely qualified to offer other athletes the same quality and personal attention that helped me to achieve success as a professional athlete, so I created Ultimate Performance,” Johnson said. “We’re incredibly selective about whom we represent, and I couldn’t be more excited to work with and for these three amazing young men.”

Johnson also signed Michael Bingham of North Carolina, the reigning NCAA 400m Indoor Champion with a personal record of 45.02 seconds. This former Wake Forest All-American competed for Great Britain’s 4×400 meter relay that placed fourth in Beijing.

400-meter hurdler Javier Culson Perez will be represented by Johnson and will also train at the Michael Johnson Performance Center, a 24,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility in McKinney, Texas, about 20 miles north of Dallas. Perez boasts a personal best of 48.83 seconds and competed for Puerto Rico at the Beijing Olympic Games.

The good feelings are flowing all around.

“I’ve always surrounded myself with good people, and it’s a tight circle,” Rupp said. “I felt an immediate connection with Michael. I knew I could trust him, and that’s one of the most important things to me.”

Rupp named Athlete of the Week

The University of Oregon’s Galen Rupp has been named USA Track & Field’s Athlete of the Week after setting the American Indoor record in the men’s 5,000 meters Friday at the 2009 Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark.

A 2008 Olympian, Rupp’s time of 13 minutes, 18.12 seconds in the men’s 5,000m broke four records, the American indoor record, the collegiate indoor record and the American collegiate and Oregon record. The previous American record of 13:20.55 was set by Doug Padilla in 1982, four years before Rupp was born. The previous collegiate record of 13:20.4 was set in 1981 by Suleiman Nyambui.  In that same race, Rupp’s coach, Alberto Salazar, set the American collegiate and Oregon record of 13:22.6.

Elsewhere, Trevor Barron smashed the American junior record in the men’s 20 km Race Walk, crossing the line in 1:37:49. The previous record of 1:42:15 was set in 1990 by Philip Dunn.

Now in its eighth year, USATF’s Athlete of the Week program is designed to recognize outstanding performers at all levels of the sport. USATF names a new honoree each week and features the athlete on the USATF website. Selections are based on top performances and results from the previous week.

2009 USATF Athlete of the Week Winners: January 6, Mason Finley; January 13, Amber Campbell; January 20, Josh Cox; January 27, German Fernandez; February 3, Ashton Eaton; February 10, Shalane Flanagan; February 17, Galen Rupp.

Courtesy of USA Track & Field.