Benita Johnson
AUSTRALIA
BIRTHDATE:
May 6, 1979
PERSONAL BEST:
2:22:36 (Chicago, 2006)
WORLD MARATHON MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS:
07Oct07 The Lasalle Bank Chicago Marathon 5th 2:38:30
22Apr07 Flora London Marathon 7th 2:29:47
22Oct06 The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon 3rd 2:22:36
17Apr05 Flora London Marathon 6th 2:26:32
07Nov04 ING New York City Marathon 14th 2:38:03
CAREER NOTES:
After accepting a scholarship with the AIS in Canberra, Benita Johnson placed seventh in the 1500m in the World Junior Championships and set her sites on the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Johnson won the 5000m at the Olympic Trials, but was unable to progress past her heat at the Games despite setting a personal record.
Johnson altered her career focus in 2001 to break Australia’s 3000m national record in a sixth-place finish at the World Indoor Championships in 8:42:75. Later that month, she placed sixth at the short course event in the strongest Australian effort ever displayed at the World Cross Country Championships. In September 2002 at Berlin, Johnson continued to build her athletic resumé with a third-place performance in the 5000m that set the current 14:47.60 Australian national record. Johnson then delivered a fourth-place finish in the same event at the World Cup.
In 2003, Johnson won her first international event medal placing third in the IAAF World Championships Half Marathon and set a national record of 30:37.68 for 10,000m at the IAAF World Championships for track and field. The following year she became the first Australian to medal when she won the 2004 World Cross Country Championships. After a sensational 1:07:55 victory at the BUPA Great North Run Half-Marathon, Johnson then made her marathon debut in New York where she finished 14th in 2:38:03.
In her second marathon at the 2005 Flora London Marathon, Johnson took on a deep women’s field as she posted a 2:26:32 and lowered her debut time by nearly 12 minutes.
The Australian stalwart delivered more strong performances in 2006 as she placed fourth in the 10,000m at the Commonwealth Games in March and fourth in back-to-back races at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships. Johnson continued her good form on the roads, setting an Australian 10K road record of 31:28 at the Crescent City Classic, lowering it to 31:17 at the BUPA Great Manchester 10-K and winning the Freihofer's Run for Women 5K in 15:27. In August at the New York City Half Marathon, she placed second just behind champion Catherine Ndereba in 1:09:43.
At The 2006 LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon, Johnson lowered her personal best to 2:22:36, breaking Lisa Martin's 18-year-old Australian record of 2:23:51 while finishing third. She ended the year with a course record victory of 1:10:01 at the Sanyo Road Race Half-Marathon in Okayama, Japan.
In April 2007, Johnson won the prestigous Berlin Half-Marathon in 1:08:28. Three weeks later at London she started with the lead pack, but fell off pace by 11 miles and wound up in seventh, about nine minutes behind winner Zhou Chunxiu. She ran another solid effort in difficult conditions at Chicago that fall, placing fifth to earn another WMM point.
PERSONAL NOTES:
Benita Willis was born in Mackay, Queensland and married Cameron Johnson on February 2, 2002. She was an international class under-18 hockey player. Her younger sister Caitlin has run sub-53 seconds for 400m.
