Sheena Johnson

Event: 400mH
Born: Oct. 1, 1982 in Camden, NJ

Career Highlights

2008 Olympic Games silver medalist; 3rd at 2008 Olympic Trials; 2004 Olympic Trials champion; 2-time USA Outdoor runner-up ('06, '07); 2007 Pan Am Games champion; 2-time (2003, '04) NCAA champion ('03, '04); 3-time USA Junior 400mH champion (‘99, '00 & '01)

After leading the race early, Tosta came off the turn just a whisker behind Melaine Walker of Jamaica in the final of the women's 400m hurdles at the Olympic Games. Walker powered ahead to win in an Olympic record time of 52.64, the #4 time in history, with Tosta second in 53.70 to win the first U.S. medal in the hurdles since 1996. The 2008 Games had an inausipicious beginning for Tosta, when she ran a poor first round and barely qualifying for the semifinals. All that history didn't matter Wednesday night when she won her silver medal....After her 2004 Olympic Trials win, Johnson has twice been USA runner-up in '06 and '07. She came just one place from winning an Olympic medal in the women's 400m hurdles final in Athens. She capped a phenomenal collegiate career by becoming the 11th fastest ever 400m hurdler...more significantly, then still just 21 years of age, the former UCLA standout in 2004 became by far the youngest to crack the event's 53-second barrier...her 52.95 to win the 2004 Olympic Trials was the fastest in the world at the time, and led six of the top seven finishers to personal bests. She shattered the previous collegiate record of 53.87, Kim Batten's Trials record of 52.97, one which had stood since 1991 and with it Sandra Glover's 53.33 Olympic Trials record from 2000 as well...she won the event at the 2003 NCAA Outdoor in a personal-best time of 54.24 seconds while setting a new NCAA meet record with #2 all-time collegiate mark...in the 100m hurdles at NCAA Outdoors, Johnson garnered her eighth All-American honor, placing eighth in another personal-best time of 13.09 seconds, ranking #4 in school history...during her prep career, Johnson won the 400m hurdles at the 2000 USA Junior Champs for the second time (1999) with a prep personal-best of 56.82 (#3 on the all-time U.S. high school list, #7 all-time U.S. Junior)...at the 2000 Penn Relays, she won the 400m hurdles for the third consecutive season, the first time in Penn prep history that an athlete won the same event three consecutive years...Johnson was named by Track & Field News as the Outstanding Female High School Indoor Track and Field performer for the 1999 and 2000 seasons...at the 2000 Virginia State Championships, she won the 300m hurdles (40.94, state record), 100m hurdles (13.8w), triple jump (12.21m/40-7.25) and long jump (6.15m/20-2w)...is tied with U.S. Olympian Paula Girven for most events (four) ever won at the Virginia State meet and total outdoor titles (nine)...held 28 district and regional indoor and outdoor titles (1997-2000), 15 individual VA State championships and six national crowns.

2008: Olympic silver medalist (53.70), 1st in semifinal (54.07)...3rd at Olympic Trials (54.62)...2nd at Belem (55.09)
2007: USA Outdoor runner-up (53.29)...Pan Am Games champion (54.64)...5th in semis at World Outdoors (54.55)...2nd at Nike Prefontaine Classic (54.44)...1st at Belem (54.60)...2nd in 100mH at The Road to Eugene '08 (12.90)...ranked #2 in the U.S. by T&FN...best of 53.29.
2006: USA Outdoor runner-up (53.90)...3rd at Paris (54.39)...6th at Athens (54.72)...2nd at Ostrava  (54.97)...5th at Rieti (54.42)...ranked #4 in the U.S. by T&FN...best of 53.90.
2005: 4th at USA Outdoor Champs (55.55)...1st at Reebok Grand Prix (55.46)...4th at Rome (54.72)...3rd at Helsinki GP (55.35)...2nd at Rieti (54.73)...USA Indoor 60m hurdles runner-up (8.14)...ranked #10 in the world (#3 U.S.) by T&FN...best of 54.72.
2004: Olympic Trials 400mH champion (52.95) which broke the collegiate, Olympic Trials, and U.S. Championship record and was also the fastest time ever run by an American on American soil...4th at Olympic Games (53.83)...NCAA 400mH champion and 3rd in 100mH (53.54, 12.75)...PAC 10 Champion in 100mH (12.79) and 400mH with a heat time of (54.32)...1st at NCAA West Regionals in 400mH (54.91)...3rd at NCAA Indoor 60H (8.11)...ranked #7 in the world (#2 U.S.) at the 400mH and (#9 U.S.) at the 100mH by T&FN..best of 52.95 & 12.75.
2003: NCAA 400mH champion (54.24) & 8th in 100mH (13.09) at NCAA Outdoors...NCAA West Regional 400mH champion (55.88)...Pac-10 400mH champion (56.45) & 100mH champion (13.10)...7th in 60mH (8.17) & 4th in the 4x400m relay (second leg-3:33.24) at NCAA Indoors...3rd at NCAA Indoor 60H (8.11)...ranked #5 in U.S. in 400mH by T&FN...best of 13.09 & 54.24.
2002: 4th at NCAA Outdoors (55.71, then personal-best)400mH champion (57.35) & 100mH runner-up (13.39) at Pac-10 Outdoors1st in 400mH at UCLA (56.56)best of 13.36 & 55.71.
2001: 1st in 400mH (58.56) & 2nd 4x400m relay (second leg - 3:36.90) at Juniors U.S. vs. Great Britain...4th in 100mH at NCAA Outdoors (13.82)...Pac-10 400mH champion (56.02) & 4x400m relay champion2nd in 400mH at Penn Relays (56.23)best of 13.52 & 56.02.