The ‘fastest man on the planet’ lived up to his name on this day 16 years ago as he smashed Butch Reynolds’ 11-year-old record in the 400m at the World Championships in Seville.

The Texan went 11 tenths of a second faster than his compatriot to set a new time of 43.18 seconds – a record that still stands today.

Johnson, who was 31 at the time, was over a second quicker than anyone else in the field as he won gold ahead of Brazilian silver medalist Sanderlei Claro Parrela and Alejandro Cárdenas, of Mexico, who took bronze.

It was vindication for Johnson, who had been plagued by injury before the Championships, which had limited him to only four races prior to the event.

Other memorable events on this day…

1914: Palmeiras, one of Brazil’s most successful clubs, is formed as Palestra Italia in Sao Paulo.

1939: Brooklyn Dodgers and the Cincinnati Reds is Major League Baseball’s first televised game.

1995: Middlesbrough play their first game at the Riverside, Craig Hignett and Jan-Aage Fjortoft netting in a 2-0 Premier League win against Chelsea.

2012: Amateur Lydia Ko wins the CN Canadian Women’s Open to become the youngest LPGA Tour event winner.