Sinclair Community College is a school with great athletes, but not all of them play sports for the school. Tom Johnson, a 69- year old student at Sinclair, is known by the nickname “fastest man in the midwest.”
“I have raced everywhere in the midwest against the top talent in my age group and won,” Johnson said. “So that’s how I got the nickname. Like they say to be the best, you have to compete against them.”
Johnson has traveled around the nation competing against sprinters in different events.
At the Huntsman Senior Games, on Oct 5 and 6, Johnson medaled 3 times in men’s masters events (65 and older). Johnson won gold in the men’s masters 200m, silver in the 400m and bronze in the 50m.
“This is my third gold in four years for the 100m at the senior games,” Johnson said. “People from all over the world come to compete there. I raced against people from Spain and Scotland.”
Johnson is a part of a relay team with Mel Brooks and fellow Sinclair students Lloyd Hathcock and Allen Huff. Each member is nationally ranked individually according to Johnson.
“We started attending when Sinclair begun letting senior members come for free with their Buckeye Card,” Johnson said. “We have attended or are currently taking swimming, weight lifting, spinning (cycling), and tennis. We normally use the classes as cross training classes.”
At the Penn Relays, the largest annual relay meet in the world, they won gold in the men’s 60+ 4×400 relay.
“This is the meet that means the most to runners next to the Olympics,” Johnson said. “I saw Usain Bolt run and talked to Bill Cosby there as well.”
Cosby had some helpful advice for Johnson while attending the relays as well.
“I was getting ready when Cosby walked up to me and asked, ‘What time is my race?’ I told him it was at 3:08, and then he said ‘It’s 1:15 now so you need to slow down unless you won’t be worth a dime in the race. So I slowed down and won my event.”
Even with the success he has with relays, Johnson said that he was initially not a runner. He started off as a tennis player.
“I’m a wannabe tennis player,” Johnson said. “I was playing at Jim Nichols Tennis Center and the runners on the bike path saw the way I moved on the court and figured I would be a good runner. They invited me out and the rest just fell into place.”
A retired Physical Education teacher at Dayton Christian, Johnson said the children would always challenge him.
“The kids and I would always face off against each other,” Johnson said. “I told them if they could beat me in an event I would buy them a combo meal from the golden arches [McDonalds] and that’s all the motivation they need.”
With all of his accomplishments, Johnson thanks God for every moment that he has.
“Jesus provided us with wisdom to look at,” Johnson said. “I want to make sure I continue to grow spiritually, mentally, physically and socially.”