Russ Johnson (Assist. Coach

Russ JoHnson

pole Vault

• B.a. in SPortS MEdicinE, tEnnESSEE, 1999 • M.S. in SPortS MEdicinE, tEnnESSEE, 2002 • M.S. in PhySicalthEraPy, MEdical collEGE of GEorGia, 2004

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

• 2005-19, SitE ManaGEr/PhySicalthEraPiSt, orthotEnnESSEE thEraPy

COACHING EXPERIENCE

• 2005-17, voluntEEr aSSiStant coach, tEnnESSEE • 2018-PrESEnt, aSSiStant coach, GEorGia

Georgia hired 1998 Southeastern Conference indoor pole vault champion and the USA Track & Field Pole Vault High Performance and Development Committee’s 2015 National Collegiate Coach of the Year, Russ Johnson, in June 2018 to coach the pole vault.

After inking two of the country’s top prep vaulters, Johnson quickly set the tone at the national level for Bulldog vaulters going forward in the shortened 2020 indoor season. Julia Fixsen, a native of Shoreview, Minn., bettered her personal best to 14 feet, 7 ½ inches to earn runner-up honors at the SEC Indoor Championships. This mark ranked third in the school record books and sixth on the national list before the season was canceled prior to the 2020 NCAA Indoor Championships due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Fixsen also took over the No. 2 spot for women freshmen indoors all-time with her SEC mark.

Fixsen also joined teammate Kayla Smith as U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Academic Individuals. Smith pushed her indoor personal record to 14-4 during the regular season, which stands fourth on UGA’s all-time top-10 list and ranked 11th on the national performance list at season’s end. She concluded her season by taking fourth at the conference meet for the second straight year.

Johnson’s vaulters accounted for 21 total points at the 2020 SEC indoor meet as freshman Haze Farmer was second with a 17-7 clearance. He also tied a 16-year-old school record (17-8.50) to win the Tyson Invitational. Finishing just outside of the scoring eight at the meet was decathlete Johannes Erm, who matched his career best of 16-3.25 to take ninth in the open vault at SECs.

Johnson helped guide Erm to win the heptathlon vault at the Razorback Invitational en route to a 2020 NCAA leading hep score of 6,114 points. In addition in the multi-events, Kyle Garland was named the SEC Freshman of the Year after winning the SEC heptathlon title (5,836 points) and improving his vault best to 15-3.

The Bulldogs benefitted immediately from the addition of Johnson to the staff in 2019. Smith had a breakthrough year as she went over the bar at 14-1.75 outdoors, which ranks third in school history, battled for a fourth-place finish at the SEC meet and advanced to the NCAA Championships. Indoors, Johnson guided Smith to a personal record clearance of 13-11 and another fourth-place finish at the conference meet.

Johnson was also instrumental in his work continuing the rich tradition of the Bulldog combined event student-athletes thriving. Taking second in the pole vault portion of the competition with a 16-5.25 clearance, Johannes Erm won the 2019 NCAA decathlon crown with a monstrous score of 8,352 (No. 6 all-time NCAA performer). Erm also went over the bar at 16-2.75 during the indoor regular season on the way to his second consecutive SEC heptathlon title and a fifth-place showing at Nationals.

Most recently, Johnson signed a trio of prep vaulters in Nikolai Van Huyssteen (Paarl, South Africa), Payton Phillips (Carrollton, Ga.) and Grant Briscoe (Carrollton, Ga.)

Johnson, a native of Carrollton himself, returned to his home state with a wealth of experiences both as a pole vault coach and athlete in the sport. He spent 12 seasons mentoring the University of Tennessee pole vaulters as a volunteer assistant where his student-athletes were perennial SEC champions and All-Americans. From 2005 to 2017, Johnson tutored 24 NCAA finalists and 12 SEC champions, at one point coaching eight consecutive SEC men’s champions.

During his career, Johnson’s student-athletes have shown remarkably consistent improvement over the years, with an average height improvement of a foot and a half. He has qualified two or more vaulters to the NCAA Championships on five occasions and was set with another pair (Fixsen, Smith) before the 2020 indoor Nationals were canceled. A majority of Johnson’s athletes have set their personal bests at the SEC or NCAA championships, peaking during the all-important postseason. On two occasions, his student-athletes have been named the SEC Freshman Field Athlete of the Year (2008, 2013).

Johnson coached Jake Blankenship to the 2016 NCAA outdoor title as well as to the 2015 and 2016 SEC outdoor championships. Blankenship, who was on The Bowerman Watch List for being collegiate track and field’s elite performer, soared over the 19-foot barrier indoor and outdoor, placing him on the top-10 all-time NCAA lists. Blankenship won the bronze medal at the Pan Am Games and qualified for Team USA at the 2015 IAAF Outdoor World Championships in Beijing, China.

Johnson, who vaulted 18-6.50 at Tennessee, was the 1998 SEC champion. He was also a First Team All-American on three occasions and competed at the USATF Championships. Johnson was a CoSIDA Academic All-American and Boyd McWhorter finalist while graduating at the top of his class in Kinesiology. He spent several years after college training with Olympians Tim Mack, Tom Pappas and Lawrence Johnson under the watchful eye of his pole vault mentor Jim Bemiller.

Johnson earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Tennessee in Sports Medicine, then another master’s in Physical Therapy from the Medical College of Georgia. He is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and a Certified Athletic Trainer. Johnson has served as Site Manager and as a physical therapist for more than 13 years at Knoxville Orthopedic Clinic.

Johnson is married to Lesly Johnson and they have two children, Lily and Levi. His wife was also a student-athlete for the Vols, earning All-American status as a sprinter and competing in the pole vault.