Stacey Johnson

Game On! with Jenny Carnes & Mary Ullmann Japhet

Game On! Stacey Johnson

Episode 5 * April 1, 2024 * 33:54

Olympic fencer and former SA Sports board member Stacey Johnson joins Game On! with Mary Ullmann Japhet and Jenny Carnes to talk about her trailblazing path to the Olympics, but with a twist. Stacey’s fight to get women’s sabre fencing in the 2004 Olympics couldn’t be stopped even when her life was threatened. Fighting for equitable opportunities for all fueled her drive to found SA Sports’ youth programs.

Stacey Johnson Bio

As a foil fencer, Stacey Johnson was an Olympian, a national champion and a collegiate champion. A graduate of San Antonio’s Robert E. Lee High School, Johnson began fencing at age eleven. She was a four-time All-America selection at San Jose State University where she established the current collegiate win/loss record of 305-1. She helped the Spartans to four NCAA team championships and was the NCAA individual champion in 1976 and 1978.

In U.S. National Championship competition, Johnson won team titles in 1974, 1976 and 1977, and was an individual finalist five times between 1974 and 1982. She represented the USA at three Fencing World Championships, was a member of the U.S. World University Games team in 1977 and 1979, and was the gold medalist at the 1982 U.S. Olympic Sports Festival. Johnson was a member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic Fencing Team, but her dream of participating in the Olympic Games was quashed by the U.S. boycott of the Moscow Games in protest of Russia’s invasion of Afghanistan. She was a member of the U.S. Olympic Committee board of directors from 1996-2008 and served on its executive committee from 2003-2004. She was President of the U.S. Fencing Association from 2000-2004 and was a nominee for the International Olympic Committee’s Annual Women and Sport Trophy, the highest Olympic award for women.

Johnson helped to found the San Antonio Sports Foundation’s Dreams For Youth program, an Olympic sport program that developed training centers in disadvantaged neighborhoods. She served as a member of the San Antonio Sports Foundation board of directors for 18 years. She has been inducted into the San Jose State Hall of Fame and the San Antonio Women’s Hall of Fame. She was named a distinguished 2004 NCAA Silver Anniversary Award winner recognizing her outstanding contributions to sport since her competitive college days.

To donate to San Antonio Sports 40th Anniversary “Dare to Dream” campaign, visit: https://connect.sanantoniosports.org/event/413573-San-Antonio-Sports-Dare-to-Dream-Campaign.

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