Jan Johnson

Jan Johnson

Personal information
Born	November 11, 1950(1950-11-11)(age73) Hammond, Indiana,United States
Medal record Men'sAthletics RepresentingtheUnited States Olympic Games 1972 Munich Pole vault Pan American Games 1971 Cali Pole vault

Jan Johnson(born November 11, 1950, inHammond, Indiana) is an American former athlete who competed mainly in thepole vault.He graduated in 1972 from theUniversity of Alabama,where he holds the school record in the pole vault at 18 feet, 1/2 inch.

He competed for the United States in the1972 Summer Olympicsheld inMunich,Germany,where he won the bronze medal.

Johnson held a world indoor record at 17 feet, 7 inches while competing for the University of Kansas. He transferred to Alabama, where he became a three-time NCAA champion. He won the 1971USA Outdoor Track and Field Championshipsfor theAlabama Crimson Tide.He was also an accomplished long jumper and sprinter in both high school and college.

Johnson won the 1968 Illinois state high school championship while competing atBloom High SchoolinChicago Heights,Illinois. In 1972, the gymnasium ofRickover Junior High SchoolinSauk Village,Illinois was dedicated and named in his honor. His younger brother Tim Johnson, set the National HS indoor record of 16'7 in 1974. His daughter,Chelsea,became a two-time NCAA outdoor champion in the pole vault for UCLA. Chelsea was silver medalist for the US in thewomen's pole vaultat the2009 World Championships in AthleticsinBerlin.

Jan Johnson runs "Sky Jumpers," a pole vault camp based on the central coast of California.Johnson also hosts auxiliary "Sky Jumpers" camps annually in Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Johnson has been an outspoken innovator and advocate for pole vault safety. He co-authored The Illustrated History of the Pole Vault, published in 2007. His second book: "The High Flyer and the Cultural Revolution" has recently been published to high reviews.

External links

• Jan JohnsonatOlympics at Sports-Reference(archived)
• Official Website