D Johnson qualifies for beijing in San Diego !!!

[old vaulter]

Dominic Johnson cleared the B standard of 5.55 last night at the san diego twilight series meet on his first attempt at the height to qualify for the olympic games and represent St. Lucia. On hand to lend support was 2000 sydney gold medalist Nick Hysong and local boy Toby Stevenson along with about 35 other vaulters and friends.

Great job.....the clock has stopped ticking, have a great time.

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.stluciastar.com/NewsHome/Spo ... fault.aspx

Johnson headed to third Olympic Games

St Lucia’s veteran Olympian, pole vault extraordinaire Dominic Johnson, pulled the hat out of the bag to do a last minute qualifying time for the Beijing Olympics when he cleared 5.55 meters (18’2 1/2") at a USATF Sanctioned meet in San Diego on July 11, 2008.


Johnson, a past Sportsman of the Year recipient, recently won a Silver medal for St Lucia at the CAC Championships in Cali, Columbia, the previous weekend and then flew straight to the San Diego meet and there made the Olympic qualifying height.


That vault ranked Dominic 56th in the world for 2008. The best height so far—Brad Walker of USA with 6.04 meters.


Equally impressive is the fact this will be Johnson’s third Olympics as he competed in 1996 at the Atlanta Games and 2000 at the Sydney Games. He has joined the elite group of athletes of Levern Spencer and Erma Gene Evans, who also have qualified for the Beijing Games.


Following are his academic and athletic achievements: Bachelor of Arts and Sciences in Anthropology, 1998; University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona; Three time All-American in Track and Field; Mary Roby Academic Achievement Award Recipient, multiple times; three Time NCAA All-American in Pole Vault and Decathlon; the Student Athlete Advisory Board for the University of Arizona; Men’s Track and Field Team Captain.


Athletic experience: 1996 to present, Olympic Tack and Field Athlete; 1996 Olympian in the pole vault and 4x400 meter relay, Atlanta, Georgia; 1999 Central American and Caribbean Champion, Bridgetown, Barbados; 1999 World Championship Qualifier, Sevilla, Spain; 2000 Olympian in the pole vault, Sydney, Australia; 2001 World Championships Qualifier, Edmonton, Canada; 2002 Commonwealth Games Bronze Medalist, Manchester, England; 2003 World Championships Qualifier, Paris, France; 2003 Pan-American Games Bronze Medalist, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; 2006 Commonwealth Games fifth place, Pole Vault, Melbourne, Australia; 2007 Pan American Games fourth place, pole vault, Rio de Janiero, Brazil.


International Olympic Committee Athletes Commission Representative: October 2005. Participated in study group and made recommendations to IOC regarding the transition of Athletes into post athletic careers.


Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) athletes: Created OECS College Athletic Scholarship Program for more than 30

St Lucian athletes, one of who went on to become a 2004 Olympian.