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Jade Linsey Johnson (born 7 June 1980) is an English retired
track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...
athlete, specialising in
long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...
. She represented Great Britain at the
Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...
in 2004 and 2008. She placed fourth at the
2003 World Championships in Athletics The 9th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held from 23 August to 31 August 2003 in the streets of Paris and the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, F ...
and was a silver medallist at the
2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002, were an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Manchester, England, ...
.


Biography

Born to parents from Liverpool and Kingston, Jamaica, Johnson, had an
allergy Allergies, also known as allergic diseases, are various conditions caused by hypersensitivity of the immune system to typically harmless substances in the environment. These diseases include Allergic rhinitis, hay fever, Food allergy, food al ...
to sand. Johnson won five British long jump titles in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2008 and 2010. Johnson represented
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
at the
2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002, were an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Manchester, England, ...
in Manchester, winning a silver medal. Later she won the silver medal at the 2002 European Championships and finished fourth at the 2003 World Championships. Her personal best is 6.81 metres, an Olympic qualifying distance, achieved in 2008 during the
European Cup The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs. The competition begins with a round robi ...
, where she placed second. In November 2007, having returned from a serious injury, she had her lottery funding removed leading into Olympic year, making it harder for her to return to top rank competition. However, she set personal bests in the
100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...
and
200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400-metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slight ...
sprints and in the long jump. She came seventh in the final of the long jump in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, jumping 6.64 metres. She was very frustrated with her own performance and expressed a dissatisfaction that the winner the Brazilian
Maurren Higa Maggi Maurren Higa Maggi (born 25 June 1976) is a Brazilian retired track and field athlete and Olympic gold medallist om the long jump. She is the South American record holder in the 100 metres hurdles and long jump, with 12.71 seconds and 7.26 met ...
had previously tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs. Johnson was selected to represent Great Britain at the
2009 European Indoor Championships The 2009 European Athletics Indoor Championships was held in Turin, Italy, from Friday, 6 March to Sunday, 8 March 2009. The championships took place at the Oval Lingotto indoor arena
but had to withdraw due to an injury. On 25 August 2009, it was announced that she would compete in the 2009 series of
Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (commonly referred to as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly Ballroom dance, ballroom and Latin dance, Latin dance. Each couple is ...
on BBC1 with professional dancer
Ian Waite Ian Waite (born 29 January 1971) is a British professional dancer specialising in Latin American dance, a teacher and choreographer. Biography Waite was born in Reading, Berkshire. He started dancing at the age of 10. Mary Richardson, a former ...
. During final dress rehearsal for the 14 November edition of the show, Jade suffered a serious injury to her right knee, and therefore was forced to withdraw on 21 November. She stated that she was "devastated" to withdraw but had to be "realistic" and praised her dance partner
Ian Waite Ian Waite (born 29 January 1971) is a British professional dancer specialising in Latin American dance, a teacher and choreographer. Biography Waite was born in Reading, Berkshire. He started dancing at the age of 10. Mary Richardson, a former ...
for his support.BBC News http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/athletics/8360903.stm Johnson returned with the other celebrities to perform at the final, and was given an extended time slot so she could perform the
Tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries from a combination of Arge ...
that she had been due to perform before having to pull out.


References


External links


Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Jade 1980 births Living people Athletes from London British female long jumpers English female long jumpers Olympic female long jumpers Olympic athletes for Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games silver medallists for England Athletes (track and field) at the 2002 Commonwealth Games World Athletics Championships athletes for Great Britain European Athletics Championships medalists British Athletics Championships winners Black British sportswomen English people of Jamaican descent Sportspeople of Jamaican descent Medallists at the 2002 Commonwealth Games 21st-century English sportswomen Commonwealth Games silver medallists in athletics