THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, August 10, 1996 TAG: 9608100262
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ELIZABETH THIEL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: 79 lines
He left Atlanta dejected at the loss of an Olympic medal he should have owned.
But in Chesapeake on Friday, pole vaulter Lawrence C. Johnson basked in the adulation of his hometown and beamed with renewed optimism that his best athletic performances are yet to come.
Chesapeake officials gave Johnson a hero's welcome back to the city, where he will rest at his parents' Great Bridge home for a few days before heading to Europe to compete on the professional track and field circuit.
In front of family, friends, former coaches and admirers, who gathered near the steps of City Hall, Mayor William E. Ward presented Johnson with a golden key to the city - a key Ward also promised would unlock the gold medal for the athlete in the next Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, in 2000.
Johnson, wearing a red-white-and-blue Olympic Games sweatsuit and red-rimmed sunglasses perched on his head, said, ``I feel like I am indebted to this city and its citizens in a way that I could never repay.
``I can only say thank you very much for everything you have done.''
He signed autographs on T-shirts, clips of newspaper articles and an Olympic Games commemorative Wheaties box. A note to one fan read: ``No goal is unachievable.''
Johnson, 22, is a graduate of Great Bridge High School, a two-time NCAA champion and the American record-holder for pole vaulting.
Acquaintances and those who know him well praised his modest demeanor, his work ethic and his commitment to his sport and the community. Johnson spent all of his holidays during college coming home to Chesapeake to help coach high school track athletes.
``They idolize him,'' said James P. Banks, Great Bridge High's track coach.
Monica M. Wheaton, one of Johnson's former teachers, said, ``He worked just as hard in class as he did on the track.''
Floyd H. Conley, track coach at Lake Taylor High School in Norfolk, where Johnson attended school through his sophomore year before transferring to Great Bridge, said, ``I've coached a lot of kids, but Lawrence holds a special place in my heart.''
Johnson was considered to have a good shot at winning a gold medal in Atlanta. But he trained for the games without a coach, after parting ways with former coach Jim Bemiller in June.
He struggled through the qualifying rounds, then finished eighth in the finals Aug. 2.
He was as concerned about disappointing his supporters as losing the gold for himself.
``I told him afterwards that he didn't win a medal, but he still has the gold,'' said his mother, Teena R. Johnson. ``I'm proud of him.''
Johnson left Friday's ceremony at Chesapeake City Hall to meet with a new coach, a Russian, Roman Botcharnikov.
He's trying to put the Olympic disappointment behind him and concentrate on the future.
``I guess I realize now that there's no way to get back the past, and I went out there and did the best I could,'' he said. ``I'll have to be content with that for now.''
After the ceremony, when most of the crowds had melted away, Johnson gave his own tribute to some of those who had helped him over the years. To former coaches Conley and Banks, he gave some medals he had received in various competitions.
To Robert G. Robinson, principal of Great Bridge High, Johnson gave the gold medal he won during Olympic trials. The medal will be displayed in the school. ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
BILL TIERNAN
The Virginian-Pilot
Despite returning without a medal, Lawrence C. Johnson, left, with
Chesapeake School Superintendent W. Randolph Nichols, was all smiles
for the City Hall ceremony honoring him.
BILL TIERNAN
The Virginian-Pilot
Paula Latten of Portsmouth, center, and Helen Smith, left, and Essie
Smith of Chesapeake, were among those who gathered at City Hall to
welcome Lawrence Johnson back to Chesapeake. by CNB