VANCOUVER - Long-time UBC swimming coach and current Canadian national team coach Tom Johnson will take his rightful place in the builder category in the BC Sports Hall of Fame during a ceremony Thursday evening at Parq Vancouver. Johnson is being recognized for his decades of instrumental work in developing some of the world's top athletes for success on biggest stages competition has to offer.


 
Johnson came to UBC in 1989 after a decade of serving as head coach of the Canadian Dolphins Swim Club and quickly established a new standard of excellence on campus as the Thunderbirds varsity head coach during his 15-year reign. The native of Hudson, Quebec was named CIS Coach of the Year 12 times, receiving the honour six each for both the men's and women's teams. During his time at UBC Johnson also synchronized the resources and expertise of the Dolphins and Thunderbird swim programs to create a revered national program.
 

My coach and mentor Tom Johnson got his place in the @BCSportsHall "Hall of Champions" yesterday...next to mine! He is the reason I am there... pic.twitter.com/hoJ8Yl6gMR

— Brent Hayden, OLY (@thebrenthayden) May 31, 2018

 
Of course, Johnson has long been affiliated with Canada's national team and has coached at every Olympic Games since 1980. Johnson has also coached at 14 World Championships and 11 Commonwealth Games where his athletes have gone on to win nearly 200 international medals during his time in charge, with over fifty of his athletes competing at the Olympics. Standout achievements include former UBC swimmer Brent Hayden's 2012 Olympic bronze and 2007 World Championship gold. In recent years, current T-Birds first-year swimmer Emily Overholt won bronze at the 2015 World Championships while also earning a relay bronze at the 2016 Games in Rio.
 
Johnson remains in coaching to this day, currently in charge of the High-Performance Centre – Vancouver, where he oversees the aforementioned Overholt and fellow Thunderbird teammates and Olympians such as Erika Seltenreich-Hodgson, Yuri Kisil and Markus Thormeyer.
 


The 2018 induction class will actually see 11 UBC alumni permanently enshrined in the BC Sports Hall of Fame. Joining Johnson in the Hall are 10 members of the 1991 Canadian national men's rugby team which has been elected in the team category. Scott Stewart, David Spiers, Roy Radu, Pat Palmer, Norm Hadley, John Graf, Eddie Evans, Glenn Ennis, Jeff Knauer all attended and played for UBC and were all on the historic squad along with forwards coach Rod Holloway.
 
Other members of the 52^nd induction class include former MLB pitcher Ryan Dempster, para-alpine skier Josh Dueck, former BC Lion linebacker Glen Jackson, Olympic gold medal skier Marielle Thompson, and former Vancouver Canuck Cliff Ronning, all in the athlete category. Sports Medicine pioneer Alex McKechnie and long-time NHL referee Rob Schick have been elected along with Johnson in the builder-coach category, while former Province Sports scribe Tony Gallagher is being honoured under the media umbrella.