Bernard Henry (B.J.) Johnson (born April 20, 1987) is an American swimmer who specializes in breaststroke events.

B. J. Johnson
Personal information
Full nameBernard Henry Johnson
NicknameBaba Juice[1]
Nationality United States
Born (1987-04-20) April 20, 1987 (age 37)
Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight180 lb (81.5 kg)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesBreaststroke
College teamStanford Cardinal
CoachTony Batis
Medal record
Men's swimming
Representing  United States
Maccabiah Games
Gold medal – first place 2017 Israel 100 m breaststroke
Gold medal – first place 2017 Israel 200 m breaststroke

Early and personal life

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Johnson was born in Seattle, Washington, and is Jewish.[2][3] His parents are Sandra and Bernard Johnson, and he has a sister, Roxanne.[2] His nickname is Baba Juice.[1]

He attended Garfield High School in Seattle, Washington, and graduated in 2005.[2] He then attended Stanford University, graduating in 2009 with a major in Mechanical Engineering.[2]

Swimming career

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At Garfield High School, Johnson was an All-American swimmer during both his junior and senior years.[4] At the 2005 Washington state championship, he finished second in the 100 fly and the 200 IM.[4]

Swimming for the Stanford Cardinal, in both 2007 and 2008 Johnson was Pac-10 All-Academic first-team.[4] In his junior season in 2007-08, his 2:04.07 time in the 200y breaststroke was the seventh-fastest time for Stanford ever, and his 57.25 time in the 100y breaststroke was the eighth-fastest.[4]

Johnson qualified for the FINA 2013 World Aquatics Championships after he placed 2nd in the 2013 US National Championships in the 200m breaststroke with a time of 2:10.09. He also placed 4th in the 100m breaststroke with 1:00.68.[2] In 2013 his personal best of 2:10.09 at the U.S. nationals led to him being ranked # 2 in the US, and # 9 in the world.[5]

In December 2014 Johnson won the 200y breaststroke at the King Marlin Elite Pro-Am in Oklahoma City with a time of 1:54.10.[6]

As of February 2015 Johnson had recorded the all-time 9th-fastest U.S. time in the 200m breaststroke, and was on the U.S. National Swim Team.[7] In July 2015 he represented Team USA at the 2015 Pan American Games, coming in 4th in the 200m breaststroke and 7th in the 100m breaststroke.[8][9]

In April 2016, he won the 200m breaststroke in 2:14.16 at the Arena Pro Swim meet.[10][11]

Johnson was on Team USA at the 2017 Maccabiah Games, having chosen not to compete in the World Trials so he could place his attention on the Maccabiah Games.[12][13] He won gold medals in the men's 100m breaststroke, with a time of 1:01.27 (a new Maccabiah record), as well as in the 200m breaststroke, with a time of 2:11.60.[14][15]

References

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