Allen Johnson

Allen Kenneth Johnson (born March 1, 1971) is an American former hurdling athlete who won the gold medal in the 110 metre hurdles at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. He is also a four-time world champion.

Born in Washington, D.C., an all-round athlete, Johnson attended University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and excelled at high jump, long jump and decathlon as well as hurdles. He was the 1992 NCAA Indoor Champion for 55 meter hurdles but did not win the outdoor championship.

Career Johnson was troubled by injury in 2000 but still made the final at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, just missing out on adding to his medal collection by finishing fourth.

2003 in the Stade de France, saw Johnson win his fourth IAAF World Championships in Athletics 110 m hurdles title when he beat Terrence Trammell into second to overtake the three world championship gold medals that Greg Foster had won at the event.

At the 2004 Summer Olympics he tripped over a hurdle in the 2nd preliminary round and was unable to finish the race and reach the final. He was however ranked world's number 1 throughout 2004's season.

Johnson was trained by Curtis Frye, at the University of South Carolina where he served as a volunteer assistant coach. Formerly, the sprint and hurdles coach at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, CO, Johnson is now the Assistant Head Coach at the North Carolina State University under Rollie Geiger.

His personal best is 12.92 seconds, only 0.01 seconds short of the then-world record held by Colin Jackson. Johnson has legally finished 11 races in less than 13 seconds, which was the most all time until Grant Holloway secured 12 on September 6, 2024. His 12.96 (+0.4) set while winning the 2006 IAAF World Cup at age 35, is the Masters M35 World Record. Johnson officially retired in July 2010, at the age of 39. Daughter, Tristine Johnson, competes as a 2014 senior at his alma mater University of North Carolina.

Achievements (110 Meter Hurdles unless stated) 1994 1994 IAAF World Cup – London, England Argent Silver 1995 1995 World Championships in Athletics – Gothenburg, Sweden Or Gold 1995 IAAF World Indoor Championships – Barcelona, Spain Or 60 Meter Hurdles, Gold 1996 1996 Summer Olympics – Atlanta, Georgia Or Gold, Olympic record 1997 1997 World Championships in Athletics – Athens, Greece Or Gold 1998 1998 Goodwill Games – Uniondale, New York Argent Silver 2000 2000 Summer Olympics – Sydney, Australia 2001 2001 World Championships in Athletics – Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Or Gold Goodwill Games – Brisbane, Australia Or Gold 2002 2002 IAAF World Cup – Madrid, Spain Argent Silver 2003 2003 World Championships in Athletics – Paris, France Or Gold 2003 IAAF World Indoor Championships – Birmingham, England Or 60 Meter Hurdles, Gold 2004 2004 IAAF World Indoor Championships – Budapest, Hungary Or 60 Meter Hurdles, Gold 2005 World Championships in Athletics – Helsinki, Finland Bronze Bronze 2006 IAAF World Cup – Athens, Greece Or 110 Meter Hurdles, Gold

Track records As of 11 September 2024, Johnson holds the following track records for 110 metres hurdles. LocationTimeWindspeedm/sDate Atlanta, GA 12.92 +0.9 23/06/1996 Brisbane 13.16 –0.4 05/09/2001 Carson 12.99 +0.2 24/06/2005 Chania 13.22 +1.5 14/06/2000 Chapel Hill 13.19 0.0 17/05/1997 Clemson, SC 13.22 +0.1 16/05/1998 Cologne 12.98 +0.2 18/08/1995 Edmonton 13.04 –0.3 09/08/2001 Fort-de-France 13.04 +1.7 27/04/2002 Gothenburg 13.00 –0.1 12/08/1995 Hermosillo 13.39 +1.3 21/05/2005 Mexico City 13.08 –0.2 22/05/2004 Palo Alto, CA 13.08 –0.1 23/06/2002 Portland 13.27 +0.5 25/06/2000 Raleigh, NC 13.22 –0.5 12/06/1999 Rome 13.01 +0.8 07/07/1999 Sacramento, CA 12.97 +1.5 23/07/2000