Johnson outsprinted on the Via Veneto

So age really does catch up with all of us. Ben Johnson - once the fastest man on earth - certainly showed his lack of youth when he tried to outrun a couple of kids on the streets of Rome last Wednesday.

Johnson was robbed of his wallet while waiting at a cash point on Rome's Via Veneto. A 10-year-old girl had attracted Johnson's attention by asking for some change and giving an older boy time to get hold of the wallet and flee. But the former 100 metre world record holder - disgraced by a positive drug test after the 1988 Olympics - figured he still had the legs for a successful pursuit.

Sprinting after the two pickpockets, the 38year-old Johnson did manage to stop the girl but her young accomplice was able to outrun him. And while the girl was detained by the police, Johnson was once again left pondering his true talent.