Patrick Johnson: How connection to Country shaped Australia’s sprinting icon

What’s it like being the fastest man in Australia? Well, ask Patrick Johnson. After having held the record for over 21 years, he’s had plenty of time to get used to the title.

But growing up, Patrick didn’t aspire to hold the Australia and Oceania record or to even be an Olympian at all.

“Running fast was something I'd never dreamed of doing, but somehow I became one of the fastest men in the world,” Patrick says.

Born and raised on the water, Patrick’s house was his father’s mackerel trawler, and his backyard was the Cape York coastline. His childhood on the water might have given him a lifelong connection to the ocean but it made his entry into athletics a lot later in life than the typical athlete.

“I missed a lot of track and field days due to living on a boat and going to about 25 different schools,” he says.

But his sprint to stardom was accelerated after a chance entry into a participation race.

“My first time in athletics was at 24 years old. I started track and field in the university games. Two weeks of training, became fourth fastest person in Australia and the rest is history.”

And history is exactly what he made, six years later in 2003, when Patrick broke the elusive 10-second mark in the 100 metres, with a time of 9.93 seconds in Mito, Japan.

But even for the fastest man in Australia, being an Olympian was about more than winning.

“Sydney Olympics was my first Olympic games, and as an athlete, as an Australian, it was an incredible experience to get a sense of what it means to represent your country and represent your people” Patrick says.

“[The] Olympic Games was all around the people, the other athletes, the spirit, and it doesn't mean you win a gold medal. It's about being part of something that's unique - that's being an Olympian.”

But for someone so fast, slowing down and connecting to country is what’s important to him.

“When I run, I have a sense of nothingness” he says, “When I run, it's a connection of spirit, mind, body, and soul. And that's what it means to me.”

“I never saw myself as an athlete, I saw myself as a person,” says the proud Kaanju man. “Who I am is around being back on country, back in the ocean, back to connecting to Mother Earth and my sense of belonging.”

These days, sport still plays a pivotal role in Patrick’s life and as he puts it, he ‘has many hats’.

Patrick is a Board member for the Brisbane Organising Committee for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Chair of the Australian Olympic Committee Indigenous Advisory Council, Sport Integrity Australia Culture and Safety Advisor, Deadly Choices Olympic Partnerships Manager and a member of the Australian Sports Commission Executive Leadership Committee for High-Performance.

“When we talk about inclusion and equity and diversity, sport is the channel,” Patrick says.

“The Olympic and Paralympics is something that's universal. It's something that we all can share in. It doesn't matter your background, your religion, your sense of who you are. You can enjoy something around sport.”

And what does he hope for the Games that will take place in his home state?

“The Brisbane 2032 Games is going to create something that we've never seen, something that our next generation will share in. But we need to do the hard work now and we'll create the space and time that will create a legacy not only for Queenslanders, but for the rest of the country.

“I think it's important that everyone feels that they're a part of what the Brisbane 2032 and Paralympics could be. Sport is for everyone.”