Bloom's Olympic Medalist Jan Johnson

In 1972 I graduated from Bloom High School and headed out into the world. A former Bloom track athlete that I deeply admired was already making history in the world. Jan Johnson , (Class of 1968), was at the Munich Olympics. I watched every news brief, read every article, and followed every step of the way his progress and achievements. I remember a whole page article in The Star newspaper describing the horrible things that went down: wrong times given out, missed events, banned poles, even murder. Yet my hero still brought back a bronze medal; a hero and legend to his friends, teachers and acquaintances at his beloved Bloom High School.

Jan went on to impact the world. He carried with him the things he learned from his childhood and from being at Bloom. He challenged the color barrier, he challenged his rights and he stayed kind, genuine and down–to-earth. He never forgot his Chicago Heights roots, although his travels took him all over the world and ended up on the coast of California where he made his forever home. He competed at Kansas and then Alabama, where he ended almost every conversation with “Roll Tide”. His “Leaps of Fate” made him State Champion, NCAA Champion three times over, and Olympic Bronze medalist.

But despite his success and fame, Jan stayed true to himself. He loved pole vaulting, he loved helping people and he loved telling his stories to anyone who would listen; and people listened. From little kids, to fans and admirers, to future pole vaulters; Jan gave his life. He had backyard teachings, pole vault camps across the nation and everyone wanted to be part of his Sky Jumpers organization. He taught, he mentored, he worked hard on the safety committee to make pole vaulting safe, he developed learning stations at his home for teaching vaulting techniques and invented a plant box that made vaulting safer. He even hand installed them as he did at Bloom High School.

Years later, Jan returned home to attend the Bloom Alumni Athletic Association’s (BAAA) first Sports Camp for future Bloom athletes. The kids were captivated with his stories. He showed them his Olympic medal as he gave them words of encouragement to follow their dreams.

At Jan’s 70th birthday party, pole vaulters and athletes flocked to his house to celebrate and tell their stories of how Jan touched their lives. There were four of us to represent, myself Donna Filips McCoy ’72, Michael Lopez ’75, Leo Lenting ’75 and Terry Bauer ’77 – all athletes and all from Chicago Heights Bloom. As I listened to all these elite athletes, their training and their successes; I bid my time. The last one to speak, I congratulated all the previous speakers that were influenced by Jan. But I wanted to impress upon them a much greater impact that he had. I explained that Jan came from a high school that is in a very depressed area, that one community was even listed on the top 5 of the most impoverish cities in the nation and how Jan never forgot where he came from. The looks on those little kids faces when he let them wear his medal or posed with them for pictures were priceless. They hung on his every word to study and work hard and reach high for their dreams. As I told Jan’s story of compassion and “giving back”, the crowd got quiet, Jan wiped away some tears and we all realized that this man’s influence went way beyond winning meets and getting medals; it changed these little athlete’s lives and gave them hope. And that is what makes Jan Johnson my hero even more.

Jan’s memorial will be at his Sky Jumper/Johnson Residence on March 15th in Atascadero, California. All wanting to attend must RSVP. I am sure people will be there from all over to pay their respects to such a great man. https://www.paperlesspost.com/go/AJV6mDQTb338daTpvXGBJ

Jan wrote his stories down, enough for three books that I helped edit. The first one was and still is sold on Amazon. The second went to another publisher and the third was yet to be put in print. The books are, of course, filled with pole vaulting stories, but there is so much more. The first book has a lot of his history in the Heights and is a great one to walk down memory lane if you are from this area. The High Flyer and Cultural Revolution (Journal of the Osage Orange) is Book 1. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1480986003/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

After all was written, I teased him that I wanted to be on the set when they made his movie. If it happens, I know he will be smiling from the sky; as he has done so many times. Rest well my friend JJ. (1950 – 2025)