Dominic Johnson sets eyes on Beijing Medal

St. Lucia’s veteran Olympian, Pole Vault extraordinaire Dominic Johnson, pulled all stocks from out of the bag to do a last minute qualifying height for the Beijing Olympics when he cleared 5.55 meters (18’ 2 1/2”) at a USATF Sanctioned meet in San Diego.
Dominic, a past Sportsman of the Year recipient, had recently won a Silver medal for St. Lucia at the CAC Championships in Cali, Columbia the previous weekend and then flew straight to the San Diego meet where he made the Olympic qualifying height.
That vault ranked Dominic 56th in the world for 2008, the best height thus far Brad Walker of USA with 6.04 meters.
Equally impressive is the fact this will be Dominic Johnson’s third Olympics as he competed in 1996 at the Atlanta Games (USA) and 2000 in Sidney (Australia).
He has joined the elite group of athletes high jumper Levern Spencer and javelin thrower Emma Gene Evans who last year qualified for their respective events to the Beijing Games, also enroute to Beijing is swimmer Danielle Beaubrun going through on an invitation card.

Dubbed St. Lucia’s most decorated athletes in terms of silverware Johnson presently holds a Bachelor of Arts and Sciences in Anthropology, 1998, University Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, he is a three time All-American in Track and Field, Mary Roby Academic Achievement Award Recipient, multiple times. Three Time NCAA All-American in Pole Vault and Decathlon, The Student Athlete Advisory Board for the University of Arizona, men’s Track and Field Team Captain.
In 1996 Johnson went on to represent St.Lucia in the Pole Vault and 4x400 meter relay, at the Atlanta, Georgia, Olympics Games, USA.1999 Central American and Caribbean Champion, Bridgetown, Barbados, 1999 World Championship Qualifier, Seville, Spain, 2000 Olympian in the Pole Vault, Sydney, Australia, 2001 World Championships Qualifier, Edmonton, Canada, 2002 Commonwealth Games Bronze Medalist, Manchester, England, 2003 World Championships Qualifier, Paris, France, 2003 Pan-American Games Bronze Medalist, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, 2006 Commonwealth Games 5th Place, Pole Vault, Melbourne, Australia, 2007 Pan American Games 4th Place, Pole Vault, Rio de Janiero, Brazil.
International Olympic Committee Athletes Commission Representative, in October 2005, participated in study group and made recommendations to I.O.C. regarding the transition of Athletes into post athletic careers.
Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Athletes, Created OECS College Athletic Scholarship Program for more than 30 St. Lucian athletes, one of whom went on to become a 2004 Olympian.