David Johnson (sprinter)
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | 1931 Marrickville, Sydney, Australia | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | ||||||||||||||
| Event | Sprinting | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||
David Johnson (born 1931) is an Australian former athlete who specialised in sprinting.[1][2]
Born in Sydney, Johnson studied at Canterbury Boys High School and after the war moved down to Wollongong, where he attended Wollongong High School. In 1949 he ran the fastest ever 100 yard race on record by an Australian schoolboy, clocking 9.7 seconds at the New South Wales All Schools Championships.[3]
Johnson was a NSW state junior champion in both the 100 yards and 220 yards.[3]
In 1950, Johnson competed at the British Empire Games in Auckland and won two medals, a silver in the 220 yard sprint and a gold as a member of the 4 × 110 yards relay team. He was the youngest athlete in the Australian squad.[3]
A few months after returning from Auckland, Johnson was diagnosed with polio. He made a brief comeback in 1951 after recovering but was unable to regain his previous pace and retired at the age of 21.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ "How life changed in a flash for David Johnson". Gold Coast Bulletin. 30 September 2017.
- ^ Barrow, Tim (30 March 2018). "The golden post-war legacy of the 'Wollongong Flash'". Illawarra Mercury.
- ^ a b c Ross, Barry (14 May 2017). "Brief, brilliant career of fastest boy on legs". The Senior.
- ^ "David Johnson Suffering From Polio". Illawarra Daily Mercury. 7 June 1950. p. 1.
- 1931 births
- Living people
- Australian male sprinters
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1950 British Empire Games
- Medallists at the 1950 British Empire Games
- Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia
- Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Australia
- Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics
- Athletes from Sydney
- People educated at Canterbury Boys' High School
- Sportsmen from New South Wales
- 20th-century Australian sportsmen