Lawrence Johnson
Encyclopedia
Lawrence Johnson (born May 7, 1974) is a pole vault
er, born in Norfolk
, Virginia
, United States
. LoJo began pole vaulting in 1989 and since has records on all stages and led the charge to return the US to the international medal podium
with two Olympic appearances including a silver medal performance in Sydney. He is now the Assistant Coach/Pole Vault at the University of South Carolina.
He is best known for winning the Olympic silver medal in 2000
, he also won a gold medal at the 2001 IAAF World Indoor Championships
and a silver medal at the 1997 IAAF World Indoor Championships
. He is a past American Indoor Record Holder at 19' - 6.5" set March 3, 2001. His personal best jump is 5.98 m, which he achieved in 1996. LoJo has 7 US national title titles and 4 NCAA titles. He still holds many stadium and meet records, as well as Collegiate Records. LoJo Vault Assault website. You can view them at his club website
LoJo is the first Black Pole Vaulter to Medal and Step on the Podium, he achieved this in the 2000
Olympic games. He is the First Black Pole Vaulter to win in a Major Competition (won silver in Paris in 1997), and the First Black Pole Vaulter to make the Olympic Team in the Pole Vault, he achieved this at the 1996 Olympic Trials.
Pole vault
Pole vaulting is a track and field event in which a person uses a long, flexible pole as an aid to leap over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the ancient Greeks, as well as the Cretans and Celts...
er, born in Norfolk
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. LoJo began pole vaulting in 1989 and since has records on all stages and led the charge to return the US to the international medal podium
with two Olympic appearances including a silver medal performance in Sydney. He is now the Assistant Coach/Pole Vault at the University of South Carolina.
He is best known for winning the Olympic silver medal in 2000
Athletics at the 2000 Summer Olympics
At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, 46 events in athletics were contested, 24 for men and 22 for women. There were a total number of 2134 participating athletes from 193 countries.-Men's events:...
, he also won a gold medal at the 2001 IAAF World Indoor Championships
2001 IAAF World Indoor Championships
The 8th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held at the Pavilhão Atlântico in Lisbon, Portugal from March 9 to March 11 2001. It was the first time the Championships had been held in Portugal...
and a silver medal at the 1997 IAAF World Indoor Championships
1997 IAAF World Indoor Championships
The 6th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Paris, France from March 7 to March 9, 1997. It was the first athletic championships to introduce women's pole vault...
. He is a past American Indoor Record Holder at 19' - 6.5" set March 3, 2001. His personal best jump is 5.98 m, which he achieved in 1996. LoJo has 7 US national title titles and 4 NCAA titles. He still holds many stadium and meet records, as well as Collegiate Records. LoJo Vault Assault website. You can view them at his club website
LoJo is the first Black Pole Vaulter to Medal and Step on the Podium, he achieved this in the 2000
Athletics at the 2000 Summer Olympics
At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, 46 events in athletics were contested, 24 for men and 22 for women. There were a total number of 2134 participating athletes from 193 countries.-Men's events:...
Olympic games. He is the First Black Pole Vaulter to win in a Major Competition (won silver in Paris in 1997), and the First Black Pole Vaulter to make the Olympic Team in the Pole Vault, he achieved this at the 1996 Olympic Trials.
Achievements
| Year | Tournament | Venue | Result | Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Olympic Games Athletics at the 1996 Summer Olympics - Men's pole vault These are the official results of the Men's Pole Vault event at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.-Medalists:-Records:These were the standing world and Olympic records prior to the 1996 Summer Olympics.... |
Atlanta, United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
8th | Pole vault |
| 1997 | IAAF World Indoor Championships | Paris, France | 2nd | Pole vault |
| 1997 | IAAF Grand Prix Final | Fukuoka Fukuoka, Fukuoka is the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture and is situated on the northern shore of the island of Kyushu in Japan.Voted number 14 in a 2010 poll of the World's Most Livable Cities, Fukuoka is praised for its green spaces in a metropolitan setting. It is the most populous city in Kyushu, followed by... , Japan Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south... |
5th | Pole vault |
| 2000 | Olympic Games | Sydney, Australia | 2nd | Pole vault |
| 2001 | IAAF World Indoor Championships | Lisboa, Portugal Portugal Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the... |
1st | Pole vault |
External links
- Vault Assault Online website. This website is for training information and support
- LoJo Vault Assault website. This website is for his vault club, camps, and clinics
- LoJo Entertainment website
- University of South Carolina profile of Lawrence Johnson
- USA Track and Field profile