Patrick Johnson (born 26 September 1972 in Cairns, Queensland, Australia) is an Australian athlete of Aboriginal and Irish descent. He is the former Oceanian and Australian record holder in the 100 metres with a time of 9.93 seconds, which he achieved in Mito, Japan, on 5 May 2003, with the record standing for 23 years. With that time he became the first person not of African ancestry to break the 10-second barrier (Frankie Fredericks, a Namibian, had been the first non-West-African in 1991). The time made him the 17th-fastest man in history at the time and 38th man to crack the 10-second barrier.Jad Adrian (July 2011). Lists of The Fastest White Men in History, Non-African Descent. AdrianSprints.com. Retrieved 2011-07-30. He was regarded as the fastest man of non-African descent before Christophe Lemaitre ran 9.92 seconds in French National Championships in Albi on 29 July 2011.Jad Adrian (July 2011). Christophe Lemaitre 100m 9.92s +2.0 (Video) - Officially the Fastest White Man in History. AdrianSprints.com. Retrieved 2011-07-30.
He reached the finals in both the 100 and 200 metres at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, and the 200 m final in the 2005 World Championships, where he finished 6th. He represented Australia at the Olympic Games in 2000. He finished his career with one Commonwealth Games medal: a bronze in the 4 × 100 metres relay at the 2002 Commonwealth Games.
Personal life Johnson's mother was a Kaanju Indigenous Australian and his father is of Irish descent. He was born on a speed boat en route to Cairns base hospital. His mother died when he was young, so he grew up on his father's mackerel trawler, and spent his childhood travelling the coast of Cape York with his siblings. A chance entry into a 100 m race in Queensland in his early 20s revealed his talent, and he later won a scholarship to attend the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra. His career in athletics was somewhat shortened by his age, and he later worked in the Australian diplomatic service, and in Indigenous health.
In 2018, Johnson contributed a chapter entitled 'My Life's Voyage' to the 2018 biographical anthology Growing Up Aboriginal In Australia, edited by Anita Heiss and published by Black Inc.
Personal bests EventTimeWindVenueDateNotesOutdoor100 m9.93 s +1.8 m/sMito, Japan5 May 2003Oceanian record200 m20.35 s +1.0 m/sMalmö, Sweden22 August 2006Indoor60 m6.69 sLisbon, Portugal11 March 2001
International competition record Representing 1997World ChampionshipsAthens, Greece (h)200 m21.45 (wind: +1.1 m/s)1999UniversiadePalma de Mallorca, Spain200 m21.06 (wind: -1.0 m/s)2000OlympicsSydney, Australia (qf)100 m10.44 (wind: +0.2 m/s) (qf)200 m20.87 (wind: -0.2 m/s) (sf)4 × 100 m relay (relay leg: 4th)6th (h) / 38.76 (relay leg: 1st)2001World Indoor ChampionshipsLisbon, Portugal (sf) PB2002Commonwealth GamesManchester, United Kingdom4 × 100 m relay38.87 (relay leg: 4th)World CupMadrid, Spain100 m10.58 (wind: -0.3 m/s)Representing Oceania4 × 100 m relay39.58 (relay leg: 4th)2003World ChampionshipsSaint-Denis, France (qf)100 m10.27 (wind: +0.7 m/s) (qf)200 m20.83 (wind: +0.6 m/s) (sf)4 × 100 m relay38.90 (relay leg: 2nd)2004OlympicsAthens, Greece4 × 100 m relay38.56 (relay leg: 3rd)2005World ChampionshipsHelsinki, Finland (qf)100 m10.48 (wind: -2.0 m/s)200 m20.58 (wind: -0.5 m/s)4 × 100 m relay38.32 (relay leg: 4th)2006Commonwealth GamesMelbourne, Australia100 m10.26 (wind: +0.9 m/s)200 m20.59 (wind: +0.5 m/s) (f)4 × 100 m relay (relay leg: 4th)Competed only in the finalWorld CupAthens, Greece100 m10.28 (wind: +1.1 m/s)200 m20.52 (wind: +0.1 m/s)4 × 100 m relay39.48 (relay leg: 2nd)2007World ChampionshipsOsaka, Japan (qf)100 m10.29 (wind: -0.6 m/s) (sf)200 m20.73 (wind: -0.4 m/s)2010Commonwealth GamesDelhi, India (h)4 × 100 m relay39.53 (relay leg: 1st)Competed only in the heat
Track records As of 6 September 2024, Johnson holds the following track records for 100 and 200 metres.
100 metres LocationTimeWindspeedm/sDate Bern 10.07 –0.3 28/06/2003 Mito, Ibaraki 9.93AR +1.8 05/05/2003 Perth, Western Australia 9.88 +3.6 08/02/2003
200 metres LocationTimeWindspeedm/sDate Campbelltown,New South Wales 20.26 +2.6 15/02/2003
References
External links
Patrick Johnson at Australian Athletics Historical Results Australian Story - ABC TV