Greg Johnston '99 is a man of many talents, and in his sport, it pays off.
Johnston, who competes in the decathlon for the Big Green, said he was never pushed at a young age to specialize in one event, like many track runners are. Now Johnston completes a combination of 10 different track and field events, and most recently placed second in the decathlon at the Penn Relays.
Johnston hails from Montreal, Quebec, where most high schools do not have track and field teams. He began running on a club team under the coaching of Jacques Chapdelaine in addition to playing soccer.
Soon it became clear that Johnston had the potential to excel in track, and decided to forgo soccer and make running and field events his focus.
Johnston's first introduction to Dartmouth was when his club team traveled to the Dartmouth Relays to compete. After seeing the campus and the Dartmouth team, he began to consider it as a possibility, even though it didn't offer athletic scholarships as Arizona University or Louisiana State University did.
As a multi-event competitor, Johnston competes in both individual events and the decathlon. He says he has the highest hopes for the high jump, as well as a solid and consistent performance in all 10 events.
However, track and field isn't all Johnston does at Dartmouth. The engineering major spends a good deal of time at the Thayer School, where he is working toward his Bachelor of Science in Engineering.
"It will really open a lot of doors for me," Johnston said of the degree, which will keep him at Dartmouth for an extra year.
Johnston said he hopes to see what he can do with engineering in the future, and is considering possible careers in business or management.
Johnston will serve as a class marshall for the Class of 1999.
In his free time Johnston likes watching movies, and named "Braveheart," "Friday" and "I'm Gonna Get You Sucka" as some of his favorites.
Until this Spring term, when he decided he needed to focus on track, Johnston was a dancer in the hip-hop group Sheba, and says many of his good friends are other members of the dance group.
He is also a brother in Alpha Delta fraternity and says he loves to go out to party and have a good time.
Since Johnston will be staying in Hanover for a fifth year, he will continue to train with the Dartmouth team, although he is ineligible to compete for Dartmouth. However, Johnston has hopes for the 2000 Olympics, for which he could possibly qualify within the next year.
Johnston, who has a tattoo of a runner, a "D" and a maple leaf on his back, says most people don't realize he is Canadian and that if he qualifies for the Olympics, he will be running for the Canadian national team.
"I just hope to make the qualifying standard and do as well as I can at the trials," Johnston said.
