At 22, Johnston made it to the London Summer Olympics for diving. Photos courtesy of Abby Johnston
Before Abby Johnston was an Olympic silver medalist, she was an Upper Arlington resident who had a passion for sports.
While Johnston would eventually break into diving, she started off as a gymnast at about 4 years old.
“I was trying to do everything my older sister did,” Johnston says. “I would go to gymnastics, but I’d also be on the diving board (at the gym).”
Johnston eventually suffered injuries that would put an end to her stint in gymnastics, but says once she picked up diving, she fell in love right away – and excelled just as quickly. She participated on the Upper Arlington High School diving team, and with the US Elite Diving Academy, which trained at The Ohio State University.
Johnston started diving at 13. By 15, she qualified for the national team, USA Diving.
The buzz for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London began about two years before the actual games, Johnston says.
“You have your first opportunity to qualify for your country, and the next opportunity is the World Cup, which are both high-pressure competitions,” Johnston says. “You just hope you’ll be the one to return. The last eight months or year before the Olympics is when the training gets very serious and the competition is higher stakes.”
The hardest part of gearing up for the Olympics, Johnston says, was not knowing whether or not she’d make the cut or if the sacrifices she made would be worth it in the long run.
“There were definitely times I would’ve rather stayed home or go on a weekend trip with friends instead of getting out of bed at 5:30 a.m. every morning,” she says. “I was weighing that against the possibility of not making the team. That was unsettling. On the other hand, I was competing and training and pushing myself physically to a limit I didn’t know could even exist. That was really rewarding, and it’s what I love about the sport.”
Her training paid off. At 22 years old, Johnston made it to the 2012 Summer Olympics.
“I did some sightseeing, but I mostly tried to work,” Johnston says, adding that she also spent a lot of time attending the other athletic events. “You can’t relive watching those incredible competitions and races. I would go to as many events as I could. Gymnastics, marathons, track – I wanted to watch my teammates.”
Johnston, now 26, went to the Olympics believing she would walk out of the competition as one of the 103 American medalists that year.
“My goal was to be on the podium,” she says. “I knew I was capable of it. But diving is a funny sport, and any given day, you can have a great or terrible performance.”
Johnston made the decision to keep her dream close to her heart.
“I was pretty bashful when people brought it up,” she says. “I was superstitious about it and didn’t like to talk about it.”
But Johnston did make it up to the podium. She and her partner, Kelci Bryant, won the silver medal in the synchronized 3m springboard event.
Johnston graduated from Duke University in 2013, and is now studying medicine at the university with an expected graduation in May 2018. In the near future, she’d like to have a career in emergency medicine.
Though she’s living in North Carolina, Johnston says she comes home to Upper Arlington during the holidays, and sometimes during the weekends to visit some of her favorite spots around town.
“I love First Watch in Kingsdale (Shopping Center),” Johnston says. “That’s my favorite spot to go to when I’m home with my friends. I used to ride my bike to the Graeter’s Ice Cream on Lane Avenue all the time. And, of course, the tradition and camaraderie that goes with OSU football games and the Buckeyes.”
Johnston says her parents were her greatest influence and inspiration growing up.
“The greatest thing they’ve ever done or said to me is that they’re proud of me and amazed at what I’ve done,” Johnston says. “I can be pretty hard on myself, so their support was really helpful to me.”
Hannah Bealer is an editor. Feedback welcome at hbealer@cityscenecolumbus.com.
