4 minute read
Still Jumpin'
Still Jumpin’
Joe Johnston Bounces Back
The last time we caught up with Joe Johnston, aka ‘Jumpin’ Joe’, he was fighting altitude sickness and limping on a badly injured knee as he struggled to compete in the pole vault at the 2019 National Senior Games in Albuquerque. His knee would require total replacement in just a couple of months and Joe knew that he only had a few jumps in him.
He continued passing at lower heights, risking finishing last in order to have any chance of finishing first. It was a risk that paid off as Joe made the most of his few attempts to capture another national championship.
Three months later, Joe’s entire knee was replaced, ending decades of struggle with an injury first sustained playing football in the 9th grade. “I had it scoped three times and managed it the best I could over the years,” he said. He was able to live with the pain, but the gradual loss of mobility was unacceptable.
The surgery was a complete success. In fact, Joe is now running faster than he did five years ago, and his pole vaulting has picked up where he left off. In February, at age 78, he won another national championship at the US Masters Track and Field Championships at The Armory in New York City. “The biggest challenge was finding a free parking spot within a block of The Armory every day,” he says. “That’s what I’m most proud of.”
The trip to New York was part of the over 9,000 miles that Joe and his wife Janet have traveled in their custom van in recent months visiting family and friends from coast-to-coast. Janet is also a masters pole vaulter but is taking a break after eye
surgery. “She’s my #1 coach, encourager, and travel companion.” Joe says. “I stumbled on my soulmate many years ago and somehow managed to marry her. She thinks I’m everything that I aspire to be.”
Joe’s next competition will be the National Senior Games in Ft. Lauderdale and after that he wants to begin training for another decathlon; a grueling two-day competition that includes 10 different events: 100m sprint, long jump, shot put, high jump, 400m, hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin and 1500m. What 78-year-old doesn’t have that on their to-do-list?
Joe does have a distinct advantage. He and Janet recently added a 5,000-square foot pole vaulting room onto their 1,800-square foot home. “The Joe Dome” allows Joe to practice all events year-round. “It’s been a dream come true” he says. “Janet and I use it every day.” And not just for themselves. The Johnstons are well known throughout the state of Florida and beyond for their generosity and willingness to host and help anyone that’s interested in learning to pole vault. Since opening “The Joe Dome,” they’ve worked with everyone from kids in the neighborhood to high school athletes across the state, to masters athletes from out of state. Their generosity has not gone unnoticed. Joe was honored at the recent Florida State Senior Games with a lifetime achievement award for his inspiration and never-ending efforts to help others improve their health and wellbeing through participation in track and field. “That’s what I live for,” he says. “Encouraging others.”
He’s definitely an encourager but will always be a competitor. Even in his late 70s, the desire to win burns as strongly as ever. “We’re born with a competitive nature,” he says. “It’s natural and it never goes away. When I get to a meet, I want to win. When I don’t win, it’s motivation to work harder.”
What’s life like at 78? “I don’t have any complaints,” he says. “I’m thankful for the new knee and love the never-ending opportunities to stay connected with my friends in track & field. The competition is fun, but the relationships are priceless. I’m a filthy rich man but I ain’t got much money. I have wonderful things in my life that I deeply appreciate and that makes me rich.”
