Steele Johnson facts for kids
.jpg)
Johnson in 2021
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Steele Alexander Johnson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | June 16, 1996 Indianapolis, Indiana |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse(s) | Hilary Nussbaum | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event(s) | 10m, 10m synchro | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College team | Purdue University | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Boiler Diving Academy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coached by | Adam Soldati (Purdue) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Medal record
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Steele Alexander Johnson (born June 16, 1996) is an American former diver. He was a very successful diver, winning many junior and senior national championships. Steele made his first Olympic appearance at the 2016 Rio Games. There, he won a silver medal with his diving partner, David Boudia, in the men's 10-meter synchronized platform diving event. Johnson officially retired from the sport of diving on December 2, 2024.
Contents
About Steele Johnson
Steele Johnson was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. His parents are Bill and Jill Johnson. He has an older brother named Race and a younger sister named Hollyn. Steele completed his high school education through Laurel Springs School, which is an online school.
Steele's Early Diving Days
Steele Johnson started diving when he was seven years old.
On January 21, 2009, when he was 12, Steele had a serious accident. While trying a difficult dive, he hit his head on the concrete platform. He fell 33 feet into the water. His coach, John Wingfield, quickly rescued him. Steele was taken to the hospital, where his head wound was stapled. Doctors said he had a minor concussion. Steele returned to diving just one month after the accident. Later, in 2016, he shared that he still had some memory problems because of the injury.
In the summer of 2014, Steele and his future Olympic teammate, David Boudia, competed for the USA at the FINA Diving World Cup. They earned a bronze medal in the synchronized 10-meter platform event.
College Diving Career
Steele Johnson went to Purdue University for college. He trained and competed there under Head Coach Adam Soldati. In 2015, Steele became the first diver from Purdue since David Boudia (in 2009) to win NCAA titles in both springboard and platform diving in the same year. He also received many other awards, including Big Ten Diver of the Year.
Steele took a break from college diving during the 2015-2016 season. This allowed him to focus on training for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
In December 2016, Steele won a silver medal on the one-meter springboard at the USA Diving Winter National Championships. This qualified him for the 2017 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, Hungary. During the 2016 season, Steele also won a bronze medal on the three-meter board. He set a new record at Purdue for the one-meter dive with 470.05 points. Steele also won his first Big Ten Conference title for platform diving.
In March 2018, Steele won his fifth NCAA championship. He scored 499.35 points to win his second straight championship on the three-meter board.
Steele had surgeries in September 2018 and February 2019 for stress fractures in his right foot. Because of this injury and the surgeries, he missed the entire 2018-2019 college diving season. Steele then decided to become a professional diver instead of finishing his last year of college diving.
Olympic Diving Career
At the Olympic trials in June 2016, Steele Johnson and his partner David Boudia achieved a record-breaking score of 491.01 in men's synchronized 10-meter platform diving. This was the highest score ever for an American team.
Steele and David then went on to win a silver medal in that event at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. They stayed in second place through all six rounds of the competition. The team from China won the gold medal, and the team from Britain won the bronze. Steele and David scored 457.11 points. In the individual 10-meter platform event, Steele finished 13th. After the 2016 Olympics, Steele shared that he had competed with a broken foot during the Games.
In June 2021, Steele Johnson had to withdraw from the 2020 Olympic trials because of another injury to his right foot. The 2020 Olympic Games had been moved to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Steele had been competing in both individual and synchronized springboard diving. When he announced his decision, Steele explained that his foot had not been healthy for six years. He said the pain had become too much to continue pushing through.
Professional Diving and Retirement
In 2019, Steele Johnson began diving with Ben Bramley in platform synchronized diving. His former Olympic partner, David Boudia, had decided to switch to springboard diving. Steele and Ben finished eighth in the 10-meter synchronized event at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships in Gwangju, Korea.
Steele Johnson announced his retirement from diving on December 2, 2024.
Other Activities
When he was 15, Steele Johnson started posting daily video blogs, called vlogs, on his YouTube channel, TheSteeleJohnson. Sometimes, in his vlogs, he talked about his head injury from 2009. In one video, he mentioned that the dive which almost caused him serious harm became his favorite to practice. He said, "Something which almost killed me has become the thing I'm best at."
Steele also acted in a student film called "Blood And Water."
On June 4, 2020, Steele appeared as himself on ABC's game show To Tell the Truth. The show was hosted by Anthony Anderson.
Personal Life
Steele Johnson married Hilary Nussbaum in Colorado on June 23, 2017. He is a Christian. Steele has shared how his Christian faith helped him understand his 2009 head injury.
He explained that he first wanted his injury to be a "cool story" about overcoming a challenge to reach the Olympics. But he later realized that God had a plan for him. He said, "God kept me alive and He is still giving me the ability to do what I do."
See also
In Spanish: Steele Johnson para niños
