Steele Johnson

Steele Alexander Johnson (born June 16, 1996) is an Olympic silver medal-winning American diver.

He has won multiple national titles at both the junior and college levels.

He suffered a potentially fatal head injury on January 21, 2009, at the age of 12.

While attempting a reverse 31⁄2 somersault in tuck position, he struck his head on the concrete platform.

After falling 33 feet into the water below, Johnson was motionless until being rescued by his coach, John Wingfield.

According to Johnson, Wingfield helped to limit his blood loss.

Johnson has stated that he was hospitalized, that his scalp wound was stapled shut, and that he was diagnosed with only a minor concussion.

Johnson resumed diving a month following the accident.

Steele scored a 470.05 points on one-meter, surpassing Boudia's previous record of 468.55 set in 2010.

Additionally, Johnson won his first Big Ten Conference title for platform diving with a score of 547.8.

Johnson was also named First Team All-Big Ten.

In the 10-meter platform individual event, Johnson placed 13th with a score of 447.85.

He won the 10-meter platform at the 2013 USA Diving Winter Nationals, was a 15-time junior national champion, and was a four-time champion at the Junior Pan American Games.

Johnson was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, to Bill and Jill Johnson.

He has an older brother named Race and a younger sister named Hollyn.

He earned his high school diploma from Laurel Springs School, an accredited private online school based in Ojai, California.

Johnson began diving at age seven.

In the summer of 2014, with his future Olympic diving teammate, David Boudia, Johnson represented USA Diving at the FINA Diving World Cup.

Johnson and Boudia won a bronze medal in the synchronized 10-meter platform.

Johnson attended college at Purdue University.

Johnson was selected as the Big 10 Diver of the Week eight times during the 2014–2015 season and was named Diver of the Year for 2015.

In 2015, Johnson became the first diver since Purdue alumnus David Boudia in 2009 to win NCAA titles on springboard and platform in the same year.

Johnson also won CSCAA Diver of the year, Big Ten Diver of the Year, Purdue Male Athlete of the Year, Two-time All American (1-meter and platform diving), and Honorable Mention All-American (3-meter Diving); he was also a World Championships Qualifier (Synchronized 10-meter).

Johnson redshirted the 2015-2016 diving season to train for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Johnson made his Olympic debut at the 2016 Rio Games, where he won a silver medal with David Boudia in the men's 10 m synchronized platform diving competition.

Johnson is a six-time senior national champion with USA Diving.

In 2016, Johnson revealed that he still suffered from short- and long-term memory loss due to the accident.

In December 2016, Johnson received a silver medal on the one-meter springboard at the USA Diving Winter National Championships and qualified for the 2017 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

During the 2016 season, Johnson won bronze on three-meter and finished in the top four of all three diving events at the Big 10 Diving Championships.

At the June 2016 Olympic trials, Johnson and partner David Boudia achieved a score of 491.01 in men's synchronized 10-meter platform diving; this total was the highest ever for an American team.

Johnson and Boudia went on to win a silver medal in that event at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

At the Olympics, the pair were in second place following each of the six rounds of the competition.

The team of Chen Aisen and Lin Yue of China won the gold, while the bronze went to Britain's Tom Daley and Daniel Goodfellow.

Johnson and Boudia scored a 457.11.

After the 2016 Olympics, Johnson revealed that he had competed on a broken foot at the Olympic Games.

In June 2021, Johnson withdrew from the 2020 Olympic trials due to a right foot injury.

In March 2018, Johnson won his fifth NCAA championship, scoring 499.35 points to win his second championship in a row on the three-meter board.

Johnson underwent surgeries in September 2018 and February 2019 to remedy stress fractures in his right foot and subsequent complications.

The foot injury and ensuing surgeries caused him to miss the entire college diving season.

Johnson opted out of his final year of college diving eligibility to turn professional.