Growing up in Miami, Ashley Johnson and her four siblings took swimming lessons as children primarily to appease their mother, who was worried they would drown in the family pool at work. .
These lessons led him to fall in love with swimming, join the local Riptides swim team in nearby Cutler Ridge, and eventually lead to water polo, a unique sport for black youth.
Johnson's sister and three brothers all took lessons from Carol Vaughn and went on to succeed in sports. But Ashley Johnson took off as a goalie, using her lean frame, quickness, and understanding of angles to become an All-American at Princeton University, where she recorded 100 wins and became the school's all-time save leader. Ta.
In 2016, she became the first Black person to be named to the U.S. Olympic team in water polo, winning a gold medal. She won another gold medal four years later at the Tokyo Games. Johnson, 29, is widely considered the best in the world at her position.
Johnson is eager to win a third gold medal at this summer's Paris Games, but just as important is her desire to make an impact on young people, especially those from underserved communities. That's what he said.
“The longer you do the sport, the less it becomes about you,” Johnson said. “I remember when I was younger on this national team, when I was just starting to find my footing, I didn’t understand why it was important for me to be here. But now I understand. As a Black woman of Caribbean descent in this sport, I definitely feel a special obligation to be a beacon to little Black and brown girls and boys who may be interested in swimming or water polo. It's really special and a priority for me.”
Johnson's sister, Chelsea Johnson, now 28, also played water polo at Princeton University. Vaughn said she can expect them to return to their hometowns to host clinics for local children.
Meeting the kids and spending time with them remains one of Johnson’s favorite aspects of competing.
“It's so great to see how inspirational this sport is,” Johnson said. “These kids sometimes share their experiences and struggles, and I've probably gone through something similar to them. [I’m] You can give them words of encouragement. We are all unique in some ways, but very similar in others. And having experiences like this with our kids really makes us all stronger. ”
Johnson's Jamaican mother, Donna Johnson, is basking in her daughter's accomplishments. But what is most gratifying, she said, is the personal growth her daughter has seen during her journey, where she is often the only Black person in the pool.
“I didn’t even know what water polo was,” Donna Johnson said. She was a home health nurse and a single mother who didn't feel comfortable having a sitter at her home until her children learned to swim.
“I had horrible nightmares and daydreams of them falling into the pool and everyone trying to save each other and drowning together,” she said. Through the simple act of finding a place where children can learn to swim, water polo has become a very important part of children's lives. “And for Ashley, I'm so happy that playing this sport has allowed her to grow into someone who loves to inspire kids,” she said.
Getting to that place wasn't easy. When Ashley Johnson and her brother began competing outside of their area in Miami, they quickly found themselves the only black athletes on the team. The sisters played together at Princeton, but after their first year at Chelsea, Ashley was taken off to play for the national team. It was an important next step, but a difficult one.
“When the mother brought all her children to me, I saw that she was very athletic,” Vaughn said. “Ashley was 8 or 9 years old. She kept getting better and better. But when she went to the California varsity team, it was very tough on her,” Vaughn said of the coaches. “I only saw the negative side of her,'' he said. She said there were times when she wanted to quit. But she persevered there and she finally broke through the barriers they had built. ”
Being the only black athlete competing was also a barrier.
“Fundamentally I wanted to play water polo and it was a lot of fun and I had a real passion for the sport,” Johnson said. But she said she felt alone as she moved away from her former team and her family in Florida and immersed herself in a swimming culture that was foreign to her. She said, “I was like, 'I love doing this, but I don't want to struggle with that.'”
Her mother was unaware of her struggles. “She didn't know that she always felt alone,” Donna Johnson said. “I raised my children to see people as people, which in hindsight was a very naive way of thinking. I never cared about that aspect. But as I became more enlightened, I realized that most of the time she was the only black person and that was America's condition for black people. I did.”
But Johnson and her siblings were strengthened by “the foundation that our mother laid in all of us,” she said. “She taught us that we were worthy, that we were beautiful, that we had a place to belong. So even though I felt alone at times, I actually felt more powerful to be there.” I also realized that just because I am different doesn't mean I stand out in a bad way. Ultimately, I have the ability to change that and stand out to other black people who may come after me. You realize that you have the power to make a space welcoming to brown people.”
Johnson, who has a bachelor's degree in psychology, said she doesn't know what will happen after the Olympics. But she said: She said, “Life is calling me, and it's a real privilege to be able to choose when to stop playing.”
Johnson said when her water polo career ends this summer, her post-competition life will begin with finding her place. She eventually wants to start her family. She is considering going to culinary school. She may move to another country, where she may “pursue trade.”
“I've spent so much time on this, I haven't spent much time exploring other parts of myself,” she said. “I think it's a journey that everyone should go on in life. That's exactly where I am. I just want to give myself space to explore.”For more information on NBC BLK, Sign up for our weekly newsletter.
