Rafer Lewis Johnson Quotes

• What I can tell them is the way you become an Olympic champion is to start working now. I tell them why it’s always worth it to put the time and effort into something you want to be good at.

  Rafer Lewis Johnson

  Topics in Effort

• Tonight I’m going to shower and then just walk for about four hours and look at the moon.

  Rafer Lewis Johnson

  Topics in Uncategorized

  Tags in Tonight

• Through the program, they get the basics of what it takes to train.

  Rafer Lewis Johnson

  Topics in Uncategorized

  Tags in Train

• The whole decathlon is ridiculous, but the 1,500 meters is insanity.

  Rafer Lewis Johnson

  Topics in Uncategorized

  Tags in ridiculous

• The main thing is that it’s nice to see these young people – 9 to 14 years old – take the opportunity to get more involved in their health and fitness. We need more kids to be more active.

  Rafer Lewis Johnson

  Topics in Uncategorized

  Tags in Main, Thing

• So I had the opportunity to do what the kids in the Hershey program do, except that the Hershey program lets them do it on such a larger scale, with the regional and national competitions.

  Rafer Lewis Johnson

  Topics in Uncategorized

  Tags in Larger, Scale

• It’s very warm there, so we were outdoors all the time. The local people had programs for us year-round, where as kids we had the opportunity to play football, basketball, baseball, track and field – we just went from one sport to the next, year-round.

  Rafer Lewis Johnson

  Topics in Uncategorized

  Tags in Outdoors

• I tell them how what matters is becoming the best you can be at whatever you’re doing.

  Rafer Lewis Johnson

  Topics in Life

  Tags in Living

• I make appearance at local park and recreation agencies when the program starts, when they have the qualifying meets at the local levels. Then I try to go to the regional competitions, and of course I’m there in Hershey, Pa., in August for the North American final.

  Rafer Lewis Johnson

  Topics in Uncategorized

  Tags in Qualify, Recreation

• I don’t care if I never see Texas again.

  Rafer Lewis Johnson

  Topics in Uncategorized

  Tags in Again

• I also meet with city officials, representatives from governors’ offices, really anyone in that sort of position who has shown an interest in youth fitness, to let them know why this sort of program is so important. I give the same message when I speak at conferences.

  Rafer Lewis Johnson

  Topics in Uncategorized

  Tags in Governor

Rafer Lewis Johnson (11)

Birth:	18th August, 1935
Nationality:	American
Profession:	Actor, Athlete

About

Johnson was born in Hillsboro, Texas, but the family moved to Kingsburg, California, when he was nine. For a while, they were the only black family in the town.A versatile athlete, he played on Kingsburg High School's football, baseball and basketball teams. He was also elected class president in both junior high and high school. At 16, he became attracted to the decathlon after seeing double Olympic champion Bob Mathias compete and told his coach, "I could have beaten most of those guys."

Related Authors

• Mike Farrell
• Tom Morello
• Jack Carlton Moore
• Steve Guttenberg
• Kris Holden-Ried
• John Ritter
• Michael Clarke Duncan
• Brent Spiner
• David Harewood
• Joe Regalbuto

Advertisement

Today's Anniversary - 23rd December

Births

• 1957 - Trisha Goddard
• 1802 - Sara Coleridge
• 1805 - Joseph Smith
• 1933 - Akihito
• 1945 - Stephen G. Haines

Deaths

• 2000 - Victor Borge
• 1972 - Abraham Joshua Heschel
• 1818 - Philip Francis
• 2007 - Oscar Emmanuel Peterson
• 1959 - Lord Halifax