David Johnson (born 1931) is an Australian former athlete who specialised in

sprinting Sprinting is running over a short distance at the top-most speed of the body in a limited period of time. It is used in many sports that incorporate running, typically as a way of quickly reaching a target or goal, or avoiding or catching an op ...

. Born in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, Johnson studied at Canterbury Boys High School and after the war moved down to

Wollongong Wollongong ( ; Dharawal: ''Woolyungah'') is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near water' or 'sound ...

, 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. Johnson was a NSW state junior champion in both the 100 yards and 220 yards. In 1950, Johnson competed at the

British Empire Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 193 ...

in Auckland and won two medals, a silver in the 220 yard sprint and a gold as a member of the relay team. He was the youngest athlete in the Australian squad. A few months after returning from Auckland, Johnson was diagnosed with

polio Poliomyelitis ( ), commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 75% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe ...

. He made a brief comeback in 1951 after recovering but was unable to regain his previous pace and retired at the age of 21.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, David 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 athletes for Australia Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Australia Athletes from Sydney People educated at Canterbury Boys' High School Sportsmen from New South Wales 20th-century Australian sportsmen Commonwealth Games gold medallists in athletics Commonwealth Games silver medallists in athletics