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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Felisha Nayomie Johnson |
| Nationality | American |
| Born | (1989-07-24)July 24, 1989 (age 36) Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. |
| Sport | |
| Country |  United States |
| Sport | Track and field |
Event(s) | Shot put,weight throw |
| College team | Indiana State Sycamores |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personalbests |
|
Felisha Nayomie Johnson (born July 24, 1989)[1] is an American retiredtrack and field athlete who competed inshot put. She represented theUnited States at the2016 Summer Olympics inRio de Janeiro, Brazil. She was also the 2015 national indoor champion in theweight throw and won two NCAA collegiate titles in the event for theIndiana State Sycamores.
Johnson was born inIndianapolis, Indiana, to Ronald and Loesker Johnson.[1] She is a graduate ofLawrence North High School, where she playedbasketball and competed inshot put anddiscus. She earned abachelor of science inrecreation and sport management fromIndiana State University, where she also competed in track and field for theIndiana State Sycamores.[2]
Johnson won two Indiana state titles for shot put and discus in her junior and senior years at Lawrence North High School and holds records in both events.[1][2]
She gained a scholarship to study sports management atIndiana State University.[citation needed] Sheredshirted her first academic year and only began competing athletically for theIndiana State Sycamores from 2010 onwards.[1]
In her first year for the Sycamores she was aMissouri Valley Conference (MVC) finalist but did not reach the NCAA level. She broke through in the 2011 season, winning theweight throw at the 2011NCAA Women's Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships with a personal best of 22.69 m (74 ft5+1⁄4 in). She competed at theNCAA Outdoor Championships that season in both shot put andhammer throw. She did not achieve the same success in 2012: she was third at the MVC Indoor Championships in both shot and weight throw, then did not defend her NCAA title, coming fourth in the weight throw. Outdoors she took third places in shot put anddiscus throw at the MVC Championships and was fifth in the shot and 22nd in discus at the NCAA Outdoors. She competed at the2012 United States Olympic Trials and though she did not make the final, she came 13th overall in shot put.[1]
Johnson's final year at Indiana State was her most successful. She won the weight throw at the NCAA Indoor Championships for a second time with a new best of 23.52 m (77 ft1+3⁄4 in) – this moved her up to tenth on the all-time lists.[3] Johnson's title win came ten years after her coach,Erin Gilreath, had won the same title.[4] She was also eighth in shot put at the NCAA Indoor Championships and came fourth in the weight throw at the2013 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships, her best senior national placing at that point. She also won her first MVC Indoor title in the weight throw and was the shot put runner-up. A school record of 17.80 m (58 ft4+3⁄4 in) in the shot put came at theIndiana Relays. She improved the outdoor shot put school record with a throw of 18.27 m (59 ft11+1⁄4 in) in May. At the MVC Outdoors she won both shot put and discus events, as well as taking fourth in the hammer. In her final collegiate nationals, she was third in shot put and 23rd in the hammer at the2013 NCAA Outdoor Championships.[1] Her last appearances as acollege athlete came at the2013 Summer Universiade, where on her international debut for the United States she placed seventh in the shot put.[5]
After graduating college in 2013, Johnson turned professional. At the2013 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships she placed fifth.[6] In the 2014 season she signed a contract withNike, Inc. and placed herself among the world's top shot putters. She came third at the2014 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships behindMichelle Carter andJeneva Stevens, then improved to second place behind Carter at the2014 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, setting a new personal record of 19.18 m (62 ft 11 in) in the process.[7][8]Track & Field News placed her seventh on their global lists that year.[9]
Johnson achieved her first national title at the2015 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships with a personal best of 23.45 m (76 ft 11 in).[10] She competed on the internationalDiamond League circuit for the first time and set her season's best mark of 18.73 m (61 ft5+1⁄4 in) in Beijing, placing third.[11] She took sixth place at the2015 USA Outdoor Championships with a throw of 18.24 m (59 ft 10 in).[12]
She returned to top form in the 2016 season. A new personal record of 23.53 m (77 ft2+1⁄4 in) in the weight throw at the2016 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships brought her only third behindGwen Berry andAmber Campbell in a high quality competition.[13] In the outdoor season she threw a shot put best of 19.26 m (63 ft2+1⁄4 in) then came close to that mark to place third at the2016 United States Olympic Trials, earning her a place on anU.S. Olympic team.[14]
Johnson competed at the2016 Summer Olympics inRio de Janeiro, but did not qualify for the finals. She placed 14th with a throw of 17.69 m (58 ft1⁄4 in).[2]
Johnson joined the coaching staff of theAnderson University Ravens during the 2019–2020 season.[2] As of 2023[update], she is assistant coach of theMontana Tech Orediggers track and field team.[15]
All results are taken fromWorld Athletics.
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Universiade | Kazan, Russia | 6th | Shot put | 17.47 m (57 ft3+3⁄4 in) |
| 2016 | Olympic Games | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 14th | Shot put | 17.69 m (58 ft1⁄4 in) |
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | USA Indoor Championships | Albuquerque, New Mexico | 4th | Weight throw | 22.27 m (73 ft3⁄4 in) |
| 2014 | USA Indoor Championships | Albuquerque, New Mexico | 3rd | Shot put | 17.94 m (58 ft10+1⁄4 in) |
| 4th | Weight throw | 22.60 m (74 ft1+3⁄4 in) | |||
| USA Championships | Sacramento, California | 2nd | Shot put | 19.18 m (62 ft 11 in) | |
| 2015 | USA Indoor Championships | Albuquerque, New Mexico | 5th | Shot put | 17.66 m (57 ft11+1⁄4 in) |
| 1st | Weight throw | 23.45 m (76 ft 11 in) | |||
| USA Championships | Eugene, Oregon | 7th | Shot put | 18.24 m (59 ft 10 in) | |
| 2016 | USA Indoor Championships | Portland, Oregon | 5th | Shot put | 18.29 m (60 ft 0 in) |
| 2nd | Weight throw | 23.53 m (77 ft2+1⁄4 in) | |||
| United States Olympic Trials | Eugene, Oregon | 3rd | Shot put | 19.23 m (63 ft 1 in) | |
| 2017 | USA Indoor Championships | Albuquerque, New Mexico | 3rd | Shot put | 18.23 m (59 ft9+1⁄2 in) |
| 3rd | Weight throw | 24.22 m (79 ft5+1⁄2 in) | |||
| USA Championships | Sacramento, California | 5th | Shot put | 18.64 m (61 ft1+3⁄4 in) | |
| 2018 | USA Indoor Championships | Albuquerque, New Mexico | 8th | Shot put | 16.93 m (55 ft6+1⁄2 in) |
| 8th | Weight throw | 19.45 m (63 ft9+1⁄2 in) | |||
| 2020 | USA Indoor Championships | Albuquerque, New Mexico | 9th | Shot put | 17.02 m (55 ft 10 in) |
| 4th | Weight throw | 22.67 m (74 ft4+1⁄2 in) | |||
| 2021 | United States Olympic Trials | Eugene, Oregon | N/a | Shot put | NMTooltip Athletics abbreviations#Field events[16] |
| 2022 | USA Indoor Championships | Spokane, Washington | 6th | Shot put | 16.99 m (55 ft8+3⁄4 in) |
| 2023 | USA Indoor Championships | Albuquerque, New Mexico | 4th | Shot put | 17.53 m (57 ft 6 in) |
