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Profile - Benita Johnson
Height 1.66 m Weight 50kg Australian Institute of Sport Coach - Nick Bideau (was Dick Telford) Benita Willis-Johnson is fast becoming Australia's greatest ever female middle distance runner. Now 24 years old, Johnson holds national records for 2000m, 3000m and 5000m and in May 2003 ran a scintillating time in her track debut over 10,000m. Benita
is on the verge of a major
breakthrough in elite competition and will be one of Australia's
best chances of medal success at the Paris World Championships in
August. Read Benita's Biography below.
The North Queensland born teenager turned down an opportunity in 1996 to run in the World Junior Athletics Championships in order to play international junior hockey for Australia. Two years later, Willis had forsaken hockey and accepted a scholarship with the AIS in Canberra. She did eventually run in the World Junior Championships of 1998, where she placed a promising 7th in her favourite 1500m event. Her quest to represent Australia in the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games was a difficult one. She reduced her best time for the distance by over six seconds to a new PB of 4-07.05 but found she was challenged for a berth in the Australian team by a surprising number of women. Though the 1500m had traditionally been a weak event in Australia, three other women bettered the tough Olympic qualifying time and Willis finished a disappointing fourth place in the Olympic trials, missing automatic selection. As a contingency, the 21 year old had entered the 5000m trial, to be held the following day. She duly won this race in a new personal best and gained a coveted berth in the Olympic team. Inexperience at the distance may have been her undoing; she could not progress past the heat during the Sydney Games, despite running a new personal best time. Willis took a step up in class during March 2001, after training and racing alongside Sonia O'Sullivan in the Australian domestic season. She followed on from her fast times at home with a great performance at the World Indoor Championships, running sixth in the 3000m. Her time of 8-42.75 broke Donna Gould's long-standing national record, set outdoors, of 8-44.1 for the distance, even though the tight indoor tracks slow runners considerably. She repeated her sixth placing at the World Cross Country Championships, also held that month, for the best result ever by an Australian woman. Further successes came later in 2001, with an Australian record over 5000m, a finals place in the World Championships 5000m and a second place in the Goodwill Games 5000m. Willis continued her good form throughout 2002 but was surprisingly beaten by Hayley McGregor in the National 5000m Championship. She broke the Australian record for 5000m running in Japan and was selected in the Commonwealth Games team. At Manchester, she was disappointed with a poor run in the 5000m, when rated as a medal favourite, but later ran impressively in Berlin to smash the national record and 15 minute barrier with a great time of 14-47.60, ranking her amongst the world's best. In 2003, Benita (now running as Mrs Johnson, after marrying physio-therapist boyfriend, Cameron) again showed impressive form in the domestic season. Again s he was selected to run for Australia at the World Indoor and Cross Country Championships and starred, as she had two years earlier. Though she dropped one place to seventh in the World Indoor 3000m final, she improved to fifth place in the 4000m event at the very competitive World Cross Country Championships. In May 2003, Johnson made her debut over 10,000m on the track and ran a fast 31-28.41 time which makes her the only Australian, to date, to qualify for two events at the 2003 World Championships. Since then, Johnson has won two competitive 5000m races on the Grand Prix circuit - showing evidence of an improved kick at the end of her races (a former weak point of her running) - and set an Australian record for the rarely run 2000m event early in June, displaying new found speed. On 30 July, Benita set a national 3000m record of 8-38.06, running third at Gateshead. A week later, she won against strong opposition at Madrid, just missing her new national mark. She again showed improved speed at the end of her race. After a fast pace - 2-52.27 for 1000m and 5-46.62 at 2000m, Johnson and Morocco’s Zhor El Kamch (who recently ran classy PBs of 8-34 for 3000m and 14-42 for 5000m) took over, running side-by-side for most of the last 800m. Johnson kicked away with 200m to go and won in 8-38.45 - over four seconds ahead of El Kamch. Other victims of Benita in Madrid included Russia’s Olga Yegorova (2001 World Champion at 5000m and recent winner of Rome Golden League 1500m in a world-leading time of 4-01.00), Moroccan Zahra Ouaziz (who has won two World Championships medals at 5000m), 1996 Olympic 10000m Champion Fernanda Ribeiro, Ethiopian Ayelach Worku (who took third place over 5000m at the last two World Championships), and Spain's European Champion at 5000m - Marta Domínguez, who has a PB of 8-28.80 for 3000m At Paris, in August, Benita Willis could become the first Australian male or female to win a medal at 5000m or 10000m at the World Championships. Good Luck Benita! PROGRESS 1500 3000 5000 1995 4-26.00 1996 4-22.82 1997 4-17.79 1998 4-14.44 9-17.37 16-31.2x 1999 4-13.69 2000 4-07.05 9-02.19 15-21.37 2001 4-10.98 8-42.75i 15-04.18 2002 4-09.15 8-56.63 14-47.60 2003 8-38.05 15-00.49 PERSONAL BESTS 800m 2-05.41 Sydney 13 Feb 2000 1500m 4-07.05 Melbourne 02 Mar 2000 2000m 5-37.71 Ostrava 12 Jun 2003 NR 3000m 8-38.06 Gateshead 13 Jul 2003 NR 8-42.75i Lisbon 10 Mar 2001 NIR 5000m 14-47.60 Berlin 06 Sep 2002 NR 10000m 31-28.41 Stanford 02 May 2003 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS 5000m 2000, 2003 NATIONAL RECORDS 2000m 5-37.71 Ostrava 12 Jun 2003 3000m 8-42.75i Lisbon 10 Mar 2001 8-38.06 Gateshead 13 July 2003 5000m 15-04.18 Oslo 13 Jul 2001 15-01.44 Osaka 11 May 2002 14-47.60 Berlin 06 Sep 2002 Live Sports Headlines | Site Search | Feedback An unofficial, non-profit, just-for-fun, page but © 1995-2003 by Graham Thomas |
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Born
- 6 May 1979, Mackay