Carl Johnson (''Carl Edward Johnson;'' May 21, 1898 – September 13, 1932) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

athlete who competed mainly in the long jump. He competed for the United States in the

1920 Summer Olympics The 1920 Summer Olympics (; ; ), officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad (; ; ) and commonly known as Antwerp 1920 (; Dutch language, Dutch and German language, German: ''Antwerpen 1920''), were an international multi-sport event held i ...

held in

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in the long jump, where he won the silver medal.

Early life

Johnson was born in

Genesee County, Michigan Genesee County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 406,211, making it the fifth-most populous county in Michigan, and the most populous in Mid Michigan. The county seat and largest city is ...

, but moved to

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...

, as a child. In 1915, as a Spokane high school student, he competed as an individual in the National Interscholastics, and finished second in the team competition. He returned to Michigan in 1916 to enroll at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, where he was a member of the track team from 1918 to 1920 and became one of the greatest track and field athletes in the university's history. While attending Michigan, Johnson was also Class President during his junior year, President of the Student Council during his senior year, Chairman of the Ferry Field War Memorial Committee, a Student Member of the Senate Committee on Student Affairs, and a member of

Phi Kappa Psi Phi Kappa Psi (), commonly known as Phi Psi, is an American collegiate social fraternity that was founded at Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania in 1852. The fraternity has over ninety chapters at accredited four-year colleges and uni ...

, Michigamua, Sphinx, Griffins, Spotlight Vaudeville Committee, Union Opera Committee, French Memorial Committee, Roosevelt Memorial Committee, Union House Committee, and the Board of Directors of Michigan Chimes. Competing for Michigan at the 1919

IC4A IC4A Championships (Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America) is an annual men's competition held at different colleges every year. Association was established in 1875, the competition (started in 1876) served as the top level coll ...

, he won the long jump, placed second in the 100 yard dash, and tied for second in the

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

. He also had his person best long jump, in 1919.

Olympics

He did not compete in most of the 1920 college track and field season, and he had a poor performance at the Olympic tryouts. Nevertheless, he made the Olympic team. At the Olympics, in the qualifying round, he jumped . He qualified for the final round, where he leapt , which earned him the silver medal.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Carl 1898 births 1932 deaths American male long jumpers Michigan Wolverines men's track and field athletes Olympic silver medalists for the United States in track and field Athletes (track and field) at the 1920 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Genesee County, Michigan Sportspeople from Spokane, Washington Medalists at the 1920 Summer Olympics 20th-century American sportsmen