Ken Johnson

Born and bred in Leicester, Ken Johnson started his career in cross-country and was the Leicestershire one-mile champion in 1949 when only 20 years of age; He switched his attention to steeplechasing in 1951 and at the 1952 AAA Championship at the White City he proved himself in some formidable company when he finished fourth in a race won by John Disley in championship record time, and with only Chris Brasher and the defending champion Petar Šegedin of Yugoslavia ahead of him. A week earlier Ken had won the Midland Counties steeplechase title, in the rain at Bromsgrove, and in doing so broke the 26-year-old record. His performances earned him a call up to the British team for the Helsinki Olympics but he was eliminated after finishing seventh in his opening heat. Replacing the injured John Disley for the international against France in 1953 Ken then went on to capture the AAA title in 1954 when he held on to win by half-a-yard from the Hungarian László Jeszenszky who made a brave effort to catch Johnson after stumbling at the water jump earlier in the race. Ken’s only other major championship was the 1954 Europeans but he was eliminated in the first round. Johnson worked as an electrical engineer.

Personal Best: 3000S – 9:00.8 (1954).