Felisha Nayomie Johnson (born July 24, 1989) is an American retired track and field athlete who competed in shot put. She represented the United States at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She was also the 2015 national indoor champion in the weight throw and won two NCAA collegiate titles in the event for the Indiana State Sycamores.

Early life and education Johnson was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, to Ronald and Loesker Johnson. She is a graduate of Lawrence North High School, where she played basketball and competed in shot put and discus. She earned a bachelor of science in recreation and sport management from Indiana State University, where she also competed in track and field for the Indiana State Sycamores.

Career

High school and collegiate 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.

She gained a scholarship to study sports management at Indiana State University. She redshirted her first academic year and only began competing athletically for the Indiana State Sycamores from 2010 onwards.

In her first year for the Sycamores she was a Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) finalist but did not reach the NCAA level. She broke through in the 2011 season, winning the weight throw at the 2011 NCAA Women's Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships with a personal best of . She competed at the NCAA Outdoor Championships that season in both shot put and hammer 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 and discus throw at the MVC Championships and was fifth in the shot and 22nd in discus at the NCAA Outdoors. She competed at the 2012 United States Olympic Trials and though she did not make the final, she came 13th overall in shot put.

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 – this moved her up to tenth on the all-time lists. Johnson's title win came ten years after her coach, Erin Gilreath, had won the same title.Jenison, Kevin (March 8, 2013). Felisha Johnson Wins Second National Indoor Weight Throw Title; Swift Advances . Go Sycamores. Retrieved on July 15, 2016. She was also eighth in shot put at the NCAA Indoor Championships and came fourth in the weight throw at the 2013 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 in the shot put came at the Indiana Relays. She improved the outdoor shot put school record with a throw of 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 the 2013 NCAA Outdoor Championships. Her last appearances as a college athlete came at the 2013 Summer Universiade, where on her international debut for the United States she placed seventh in the shot put.. Kazan2013. Retrieved on July 15, 2016.

Professional After graduating college in 2013, Johnson turned professional. At the 2013 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships she placed fifth.2013 USA Track & Field Championships - 6/19/2013 to 6/23/2013 Drake Stadium - Des Moines, Iowa Results . USATF. Retrieved on July 15, 2016. In the 2014 season she signed a contract with Nike, Inc. and placed herself among the world's top shot putters. She came third at the 2014 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships behind Michelle Carter and Jeneva Stevens, then improved to second place behind Carter at the 2014 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, setting a new personal record of in the process.Carter and Kovacs claim shot put titles at California State Capitol. USATF (June 25, 2014). Retrieved on July 15, 2016.2014 USA Track & Field Championships - 6/25/2014 to 6/29/2014 Hornet Stadium - Sacramento, California Results . USATF. Retrieved on July 15, 2016. Track & Field News placed her seventh on their global lists that year.

Johnson achieved her first national title at the 2015 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships with a personal best of .Jenison, Kevin (February 28, 2015). Former Sycamore Felisha Johnson Wins USATF Women's Indoor Weight Throw. Go Sycamores. Retrieved on July 15, 2016. She competed on the international Diamond League circuit for the first time and set her season's best mark of in Beijing, placing third.Felisha Johnson. Diamond League. Retrieved on July 15, 2016. She took sixth place at the 2015 USA Outdoor Championships with a throw of .USATF Championships - 6/25/2015 to 6/28/2015 Hayward Field, Eugene, Ore. Results . USATF. Retrieved on July 15, 2016.

She returned to top form in the 2016 season. A new personal record of in the weight throw at the 2016 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships brought her only third behind Gwen Berry and Amber Campbell in a high quality competition.Three World Leads on Day one of USA Indoors, A view from Europe, by EME News. RunBlogRun (March 16, 2016). Retrieved on July 15, 2016. In the outdoor season she threw a shot put best of then came close to that mark to place third at the 2016 United States Olympic Trials, earning her a place on an U.S. Olympic team.Lawrence North grad Felisha Johnson clinches Olympic bid. Indy Star (July 7, 2016). Retrieved on July 15, 2016.

Johnson competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, but did not qualify for the finals. She placed 14th with a throw of .

Coaching Johnson joined the coaching staff of the Anderson University Ravens during the 2019–2020 season. , she is assistant coach of the Montana Tech Orediggers track and field team.

Competition history

All results are taken from World Athletics.

International competitions 2013 Universiade Kazan, Russia 6th Shot put 2016 Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 14th Shot put

National competitions 2013USA Indoor ChampionshipsAlbuquerque, New Mexico4thWeight throw2014USA Indoor ChampionshipsAlbuquerque, New Mexico3rdShot put4thWeight throwUSA ChampionshipsSacramento, California2ndShot put2015USA Indoor ChampionshipsAlbuquerque, New Mexico5thShot put1stWeight throwUSA ChampionshipsEugene, Oregon7thShot put2016USA Indoor ChampionshipsPortland, Oregon5thShot put2ndWeight throwUnited States Olympic TrialsEugene, Oregon3rdShot put2017USA Indoor ChampionshipsAlbuquerque, New Mexico3rdShot put3rdWeight throwUSA ChampionshipsSacramento, California5thShot put2018USA Indoor ChampionshipsAlbuquerque, New Mexico 8thShot put 8thWeight throw2020USA Indoor ChampionshipsAlbuquerque, New Mexico9thShot put 4thWeight throw2021United States Olympic TrialsEugene, OregonShot put2021 United States Olympic trials (track and field) Women field events Shot Put Results USATF2022USA Indoor ChampionshipsSpokane, Washington6thShot put2023USA Indoor ChampionshipsAlbuquerque, New Mexico4thShot put

NCAA titles NCAA Women's Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships Weight throw: 2011, 2013 References

External links