Track and Field Blogs - Chelsea Johnson

So here it is, my first blog. I have agreed to blog for flotrack for a couple reasons… first off, the creators are awesome! Secondly, I think flotrack is a pioneer for track and field web sites. Flotrack presents a new excitement for track web sites that has been severely lacking- it not only reports the results but it helps bridge the gap between the athlete and the fan- along with many other great things! Flotrack to most other track and field sites is like In-N-Out Burger to Burger King, high speed internet to dial up, ice cream to frozen yogurt, UCLA to USC- it is superior (those are all merely personal opinions of mine ha).
Little background- my dad Jan Johnson was the 1972 bronze medalist in the pole vault. I started vaulting my senior year in high school, jumped 13’6. I went to UCLA from 2002-2006; while there I set the college record 3 times (currently have it at 4.60) won 2 individual NCAA titles and 1 team title, and was 2004 Olympic team alternate. And I had the best experience imaginable! Not only did I find success on the track but more importantly, I made friends that I will have for a lifetime. That said, I guess that is what has made the transition from college to professional life a little tuff for me. I love being a part of a team- watching my teammates find success, going through the good times and bad with them, working hard at practice together and relaxing during off time. So training and traveling alone or just with my dad has taken me a little while to get use to but its getting better and I'm adjusting. And now I vault for Nike.
I moved from LA back to Atascadero, CA where I train with my dad at my parent’s house and at Cuesta Community College in San Luis Obispo (where my mom is the head track coach). My dad runs Skyjumpers- it’s a pole vault club that he runs out of our backyard along with hosting camps all over the US. Our backyard is out of control- 2 runways, 4 pv pits, a huge barn with a bunch of surfboards and vaulting drill type stuff in it, a quarter pipe, half pipe, rope swing, trampoline, free weights etc etc.
As for where I’m at in training right now, I’m a little behind from where I originally expected to be for indoor season because I was sick for 4 weeks this winter with strept throat followed by pneumonia. Once my training picked back up it has been going great. I’ve been working hard on a lot of technical changes in my vault; such as running with my right hand closer to my hip, getting my arms up earlier for takeoff, keeping more pressure on my left arm through the takeoff and pulling up once I’m in “the pocket.” All of that probably makes very little sense to someone who doesn’t vault, ha, but the point is, I’m making a lot of changes!
Regarding my indoor schedule, I competed in my first meet last weekend up in Seattle at University of WA. I absolutely love jumping there- it’s a fast runway, great atmosphere and very organized. I didn’t jump a high bar but more importantly I felt very confident and fast on the runway and I actually did some things we’ve been working on! Being my first meet and having a lot of kinks to work out, Id say overall it was a success. My next meet will be Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville Arkansas on the 15th.
I hope everyone is healthy and training hard and if you ever have any questions regarding vaulting technique, training, nutrition or whatever else is on your mind, don’t hold back from asking!