Patrick Johnson (born 26 September 1972 in

Cairns, Queensland Cairns (, ) is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-p ...

, Australia) is an Australian athlete of Aboriginal and Irish descent. He is the current Oceanian and

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

record holder in the

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...

with a time of 9.93 seconds, which he achieved in Mito, Japan, on 5 May 2003. 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 DescentAdrianSprints.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 Albi (; oc, Albi ) is a commune in southern France. It is the prefecture of the Tarn department, on the river Tarn, 85 km northeast of Toulouse. Its inhabitants are called ''Albigensians'' (french: Albigeois, Albigeoise(s), oc, albig ...

on 29 July 2011.Jad Adrian (July 2011)
Christophe Lemaitre 100m 9.92s +2.0 (Video) - Officially the Fastest White Man in HistoryAdrianSprints.com
Retrieved 2011-07-30. He reached the finals in both the 100 and

200 __NOTOC__ Year 200 ( CC) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severus and Victorinus (or, less frequently, year 953 ''Ab ur ...

metres at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, and the 200m 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 Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

and his father is of

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

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 100m 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 ''Growing Up Aboriginal In Australia'' is a 2018 biographical anthology compiled and edited by Anita Heiss and published by Black Inc. It includes 52 short written pieces by Aboriginal Australians from many walks of life and discusses issues li ...

'', edited by

Anita Heiss Anita Marianne Heiss (born 1968) is an Aboriginal Australian author, poet, cultural activist and social commentator. She is an advocate for Indigenous Australian literature and literacy, through her writing for adults and children and her mem ...

and published by Black Inc.

Personal bests

International competition record

References

External links

*
Patrick Johnson
at Australian Athletics Historical Results

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Patrick 1972 births Living people Australian male sprinters Australian people of Irish descent Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of Australia Athletes (track and field) at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Indigenous Australian Olympians Sportspeople from Cairns Australian Institute of Sport track and field athletes Indigenous Australian track and field athletes Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Australia Medallists at the 2002 Commonwealth Games