Patrick Johnson (sprinter) explained

Patrick Johnson
Sport:Track and field
Event:100 metres, 200 metres
Birth Place:Cairns, Queensland, Australia
Height:1.77m (05.81feet)
Weight:73kg (161lb)
Pb:100 m: 9.93 (Mito 2003) AR
200 m: 20.35 (Malmö 2006)
60 m (indoor): 6.69 (Lisbon 2001)

Patrick Johnson (born 26 September 1972 in Cairns, Queensland, Australia) is an Australian athlete of Aboriginal and Irish descent. He is the current Oceanian and Australian record holder in the 100 metres with a time of 9.93 seconds, which he achieved in Mito, Japan, on 5 May 2003. With that time he became the first person not of African ancestry to break the 10-second barrier (Frankie Fredericks, a Namibian, had been the first non-West-African in 1991).[1] The time made him the 17th-fastest man in history at the time and 38th man to crack the 10-second barrier.[2] He was regarded as the fastest man of non-African descent before Christophe Lemaitre ran 9.92 seconds in French National Championships in Albi on 29 July 2011.[3]

He reached the finals in both the 100 and 200 metres at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, and the 200m final in the 2005 World Championships, where he finished 6th. He represented Australia at the Olympic Games in 2000. He finished his career with one Commonwealth Games medal: a bronze in the 4 × 100 metres relay at the 2002 Commonwealth Games.

Personal life

Johnson's mother was a Kaanju Indigenous Australian and his father is of Irish descent.[2] [3] [4] He was born on a speed boat en route to Cairns base hospital.[5] His mother died when he was young, so he grew up on his father's mackerel trawler, and spent his childhood travelling the coast of Cape York with his siblings.[6] A chance entry into a 100m race in Queensland in his early 20s revealed his talent, and he later won a scholarship to attend the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra. His career in athletics was somewhat shortened by his age, and he later worked in the Australian diplomatic service, and in Indigenous health.

In 2018, Johnson contributed a chapter entitled 'My Life's Voyage' to the 2018 biographical anthology Growing Up Aboriginal In Australia, edited by Anita Heiss and published by Black Inc.

Personal bests

EventTimeWindVenueDateNotes
Outdoor
100 m 9.93 s+1.8 m/sMito, Japan5 May 2003Oceanian record
200 m 20.35 s+1.0 m/sMalmö, Sweden22 August 2006
Indoor
60 m 6.69 sLisbon, Portugal11 March 2001

International competition record

Representing
1997World ChampionshipsAthens, Greece (h)200 m21.45 (wind: +1.1 m/s)
1999UniversiadePalma de Mallorca, Spain200 m21.06 (wind: -1.0 m/s)
2000OlympicsSydney, Australia (qf)100 m10.44 (wind: +0.2 m/s)
(qf)200 m20.87 (wind: -0.2 m/s)
(sf)4×100 m relay (relay leg: 4th)[7]
2001World Indoor ChampionshipsLisbon, Portugal (sf) PB
2002Commonwealth GamesManchester, United Kingdom4×100 m relay38.87 (relay leg: 4th)
World CupMadrid, Spain100 m10.58 (wind: -0.3 m/s)[8]
4×100 m relay39.58 (relay leg: 4th)
2003World ChampionshipsSaint-Denis, France (qf)100 m10.27 (wind: +0.7 m/s)
(qf)200 m20.83 (wind: +0.6 m/s)
(sf)4×100 m relay38.90 (relay leg: 2nd)
2004OlympicsAthens, Greece4×100 m relay38.56 (relay leg: 3rd)
2005World ChampionshipsHelsinki, Finland (qf)100 m10.48 (wind: -2.0 m/s)
200 m20.58 (wind: -0.5 m/s)
4×100 m relay38.32 (relay leg: 4th)
2006Commonwealth GamesMelbourne, Australia100 m10.26 (wind: +0.9 m/s)
200 m20.59 (wind: +0.5 m/s)
(f)4×100 m relay (relay leg: 4th)[9]
World CupAthens, Greece100 m10.28 (wind: +1.1 m/s)
200 m20.52 (wind: +0.1 m/s)
4×100 m relay39.48 (relay leg: 2nd)
2007World ChampionshipsOsaka, Japan (qf)100 m10.29 (wind: -0.6 m/s)
(sf)200 m20.73 (wind: -0.4 m/s)
2010Commonwealth GamesDelhi, India (h)4×100 m relay39.53 (relay leg: 1st)[10]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Swanton, Sygall. Will, David. Holy Grails. 2012-08-09. The Sydney Morning Herald. 2007-07-15.
  2. Jad Adrian (July 2011). Lists of The Fastest White Men in History, Non-African Descent. AdrianSprints.com. Retrieved 2011-07-30.
  3. Jad Adrian (July 2011). Christophe Lemaitre 100m 9.92s +2.0 (Video) - Officially the Fastest White Man in History. AdrianSprints.com. Retrieved 2011-07-30.
  4. Web site: Australian Indigenous Olympians. Australian Olympic Committee website. 10 May 2015.
  5. Web site: Patrick Johnson: Olympic sprinter.
  6. Web site: Patrick Johnson's golden run. . 28 July 2021.
  7. 6th (h) / 38.76 (relay leg: 1st)
  8. Representing Oceania
  9. Competed only in the final
  10. Competed only in the heat