GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 28, ISSUE 2 109
Success
Beyond
Silver
BY TIM CARY
Special to Gold and Black Illustrated
I t was October 21, 2016.
Purdue was competing in its first swim/dive meet of
the year, a dual against Miami (Ohio).
Fresh off a silver medal in the 2016 Summer Olym-
pics just two-and-a-half months earlier, Steele Johnson
stepped up to attempt his final 3-meter dive, a "reverse
1½ somersault 3½ twist free."
And failed.
As in, fell-off-the-board failed. Smacked-his-stomach
failed. Zero score failed.
Johnson's reaction?
He laughed.
That sums up Johnson's approach to his sport (and
his life) in a nutshell. The most memorable moment in
Johnson's Purdue career to date, according to his offi-
Charles Jischke
