Jade Johnson
Born in Brixton, LondonBorn on 7th of June 1980
Died in 000
Like so many top athletes, Jade Johnson has been an outstanding athlete since her schooldays.
She showed great promise very early on, while still at school. She took the AAA under-15 title in 1994 and in 1995 won U17 gold and even finished second in the U20 Championships. Her international debut also came in 1995, along with English Schools' gold. Injuries then hampered her progress until she arrived back on the scene in 1999, jumping a personal best of 6.52m. At her indoor debut at the AAA Championships she jumped 6.46m and secured selection for a senior debut at the European Indoors.
Sadly, she has struggled with injury, and even controversy for much of her career. In 2006 she had a public spat with fellow British athlete Kelly Sotherton with the media subsequently claiming they traded insults. She also has an allergy to sand, not a useful trait in a long jumper!
Jade Johnson was an Olympic finalist in Athens 2004 where a jump of 6.80m secured a 7th place. Her injury problems returned and she missed most of the 2005 season suffering from a prolapsed disc. She returned for the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia and qualified for the final. She secured 5th in the final. Once again, after Melbourne, she picked up a micro fracture of her knee whilst warming up for the final at the 2006 European Championships.
Jade Johnson is well known for her coloured fishnet stockings she wears while jumping. As she once explained to the BBC: "It's a superstition thing now because every time I've not worn them I've jumped poorly.
"The only problem is I like to match. I'd like to wear pink or yellow fishnets but unless my kit matches then I'll have to go for laid-back colours."
Johnson is a member of the Herne Hill Harriers and is coached by John Herbert, Clarence Callender and Donovan Reid.
She was selected to represent the Great Britain team in the 2008 Olympics held in Beijing in China
Links:
http://www.jadejohnson.co.uk Jade Johnson now has her own official website
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