Bernard Henry (B.J.) Johnson (born April 20, 1987) is an American swimmer who competed for Stanford University and specializes in breaststroke events.

Early life Johnson was born in Seattle, Washington, and is Jewish."BJ Johnson," teamusa.org."USA Swimming - Catching Up with BJ Johnson," February 2, 2017, usaswimming.org. His parents are Sandra and Bernard Johnson, and he has a sister, Roxanne. His nickname is Baba Juice.

He attended Garfield High School in Seattle, Washington, where he graduated in 2005.

High School At Garfield High School, Johnson was an All-American swimmer during both his junior and senior years.] At the 2005 Washington state championship, he finished second in the 100 butterfly and the 200 IM. He was Most Valuable Player for his High School swim team, served as team captain, and was a scholar athlete. Skilled in both freestyle and stroke events, he held the Garland High School record in the 100 butterfly, the 50 freestyle and the 200 Individual Medley.

Stanford

He swam for Stanford University under Head Coach Skip Kenney, graduating in 2009 with a major in Mechanical Engineering. At Stanford, in both 2007 and 2008 Johnson was Pac-10 All-Academic first-team. In his junior season in 2007-08, his 2:04.07 time in the 200y breaststroke was the seventh-fastest time for Stanford on record, and his 57.25 time in the 100y breaststroke was the eighth-fastest. During his Stanford career, and subsequently, he swam for Tony Batis with Stanford Aquatics in Palo Alto. Batis began coaching Stanford Aquatics in 1992 as Head Coach, and with a strong program, had nationally rated swimmers, Junior National Champions, record-holders in the Pacific region, Olympic Trial Finalists and National finalists. Batis swam for the University of Southern California, and was a 1988 Olympic Trial participant.

Johnson qualified for the FINA 2013 World Aquatics Championships after he placed 2nd in the 2013 US National Championships in the 200m breaststroke with a time of 2:10.09. He also placed 4th in the 100m breaststroke with 1:00.68. In 2013 his personal best of 2:10.09 at the U.S. nationals led to him being ranked # 2 in the US, and # 9 in the world."At 26, this Stanford swimmer may be just getting started", Palo Alto Online.

Competition highlights In December 2014 Johnson won the 200y breaststroke at the King Marlin Elite Pro-Am in Oklahoma City with a time of 1:54.10."Katie Meili Wins Two at King Marlin Elite Pro-Am," Swimming World Magazine.

As of February 2015, Johnson had recorded the all-time 9th-fastest U.S. time in the 200m breaststroke, and was on the U.S. National Swim Team.SCVNews.com | "SCV Shares in African-American History" | 2-16-2015 In July 2015 he represented Team USA at the 2015 Pan American Games, coming in 4th in the 200m breaststroke and 7th in the 100m breaststroke."Pan American Games Swimming Preview: Men's Edition," Swimming World Magazine."Men 100m Breaststroke Swimming XVI Pan American Games Toronto (CAN) 2015 - Friday 17.07"

In April 2016, he won the 200m breaststroke in 2:14.16 at the Arena Pro Swim meet."Swimming: Phelps wins 200 fly at Arizona meet," The Salt Lake Tribune."Phelps wins 200m fly at Arizona swim meet"

Maccabiah Games Johnson was on Team USA at the 2017 Maccabiah Games, having chosen not to compete in the World Trials so he could place his attention on the Maccabiah Games."Ervin Opens Maccabiah Games With 100 Free Gold," SwimSwam Magazine."Maccabi USA Announces The Open Swimming Team For The 20th World Maccabiah Games," Maccabi USA. He won gold medals in the men's 100m breaststroke, with a time of 1:01.27 (a new Maccabiah record), as well as in the 200m breaststroke, with a time of 2:11.60."Ervin Opens Maccabiah Games With 100 Free Gold," SwimSwam Magazine."Records fall as Olympians shine at Maccabiah Games," The Jerusalem Post.

From 2013-2015, he swam for Stanford Masters, part of United States Masters Swimming, focusing on the 50, 100, and 200 Breaststroke, and achieved a few top ten age group times.

References

External links

BJ Johnson – Stanford University athlete profile at GoStanford.com