{"id":357776,"date":"2019-03-12T11:47:29","date_gmt":"2019-03-12T18:47:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=357776"},"modified":"2019-03-12T11:47:29","modified_gmt":"2019-03-12T18:47:29","slug":"2016-olympic-silver-medalist-steele-johnson-to-forego-final-year-of-college-diving-to-go-professional","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/2016-olympic-silver-medalist-steele-johnson-to-forego-final-year-of-college-diving-to-go-professional\/","title":{"rendered":"2016 Olympic Silver Medalist Steele Johnson to Forego Final Year of College Diving to Go Professional"},"content":{"rendered":"

With 500 days away from Tokyo 2020, 2016 Silver Olympic medalist Steele Johnson<\/strong> (Carmel, Ind.\/West Lafayette, Ind.) announced today on his YouTube page he will forgo his final season of collegiate eligibility to become a professional diver.<\/p>\n

Johnson, who graduates from Purdue University with a degree in Interdisciplinary Film and Video Studies in May, was unable to compete this season for the Boilermakers after undergoing two surgeries on his right foot in the past five months. Johnson had one year left of NCAA eligibility, but ultimately decided the time is right to transition from his life as a student-athlete to working as a professional diver. As he takes the next steps in his diving career, Johnson will focus on his recovery, while preparing for Tokyo 2020 and beyond.<\/p>\n