Alexander's Story
Born in Brisbane in 1969, Alexander Johnson represented Australia in modern pentathlon at the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games. Johnson was 27 when he competed in Atlanta, in the men’s individual event, at a time when the sport still demanded mastery across fencing, swimming, riding, shooting and running.
Johnson’s Olympic campaign began strongly in some disciplines. He ranked second in shooting with a score of 184 and sixth in swimming in 3:16.91, but harder results in fencing and riding left him down the order. He recorded 10 victories and 21 defeats in fencing, then posted 140.69 in riding. He did not start the run and was classified 32nd overall. Even so, reaching the Olympic stage in one of sport’s most exacting all-round contests placed him among Australia’s rare modern pentathletes at the Games.
