Tyler Johnson Emma Nwofor interview on representing Nigeria

The Tyler Johnson Emma Nwofor interview on The Check-In brought together two former Ohio State University athletes to discuss Johnson’s decision to represent Nigeria, the NCAA eligibility setback that affected his confidence for years, and his return to sprinting after retirement. Johnson also described how he balances racing with a full-time job teaching physical education and strength and conditioning in Durham, North Carolina.

How did Tyler Johnson move from basketball to track?

Tyler Johnson loved basketball first and began running track only because his middle-school basketball coach required it. He continued to favor basketball into high school, but a third-place state finish in the 400 meters during his sophomore year made his track potential harder to ignore.

At first, even the uniform felt unfamiliar. Johnson remembered being embarrassed by track’s short, thin running shorts after wearing long basketball shorts. Seeing every other runner dressed the same way helped him get past it, and he continued competing in high school.

His sophomore-year 400-meter time was 48.4 seconds. Johnson said his coach told him bluntly that, despite his love for basketball, track was more likely to take him where he wanted to go. The assessment hurt at the time, but Johnson said he now understands it.

He still trains primarily for the 400 meters and also runs the 200 and 4x400 relay. When healthy, he said, he may race the 100 or 60 meters; he has run the 800 only once or twice since high school.

How did Tyler Johnson’s NCAA eligibility issue affect his years at Eastern Michigan University and Ohio State University?

Tyler Johnson said an NCAA eligibility issue prevented him from competing during his first year after high school, and the effect on his confidence lasted far longer than the missed season. He began college at Eastern Michigan University before moving to Ohio State University, where he said his confidence fully returned in his final year, 2022.

Choosing Eastern Michigan University

Ohio State recruited Johnson out of high school, but he preferred the smaller environment at Eastern Michigan. He spent about a year and a half there before taking on the move to Columbus. Although he missed Eastern Michigan after leaving, he said both schools played an important role in his development.

The first year he could not compete

Johnson had run 46.1 seconds for 400 meters out of high school and expected to turn professional after roughly two years. When he could not compete in his first year, in 2016, he said the setback was more damaging mentally than physically. It took until 2022 for him to regain the confidence he had carried out of high school.

That experience also shaped how he viewed his achievements. Johnson said track became the one thing he felt nobody could take from him when he struggled as a student. Later, he became reluctant to make athletic success his entire identity; some people he met after moving to North Carolina did not learn for months that he ran track.

Why did Tyler Johnson retire, and what brought him back to track?

Tyler Johnson retired while recovering from surgery for a torn meniscus and training in Los Angeles for Paris 2024. He said isolation, financial strain and a loss of joy in the sport contributed to the decision. He later returned to racing, but does not describe walking away as a decision he freely wanted to make.

Los Angeles left him far from friends and family while he tried to recover and continue training. Johnson said he drained his savings and took odd jobs as he tried to stay with his coach. After he stepped away, he found it easier to pursue work and a move, and felt more at peace.

His faith is central to how he explains that period. Johnson said he was not raised in church and became a Christian after college. Looking back, he believes he had not been living according to God’s will and had to learn that painful experiences did not mean God was not good.

Returning did not immediately restore his old times. Johnson said he began training again in 2025 and initially ran in the 48-second range for 400 meters. He kept racing, eventually reaching 46 seconds and then running in the 45-second range again for the first time since college.

Why did Tyler Johnson switch to representing Nigeria?

Tyler Johnson chose to represent Nigeria partly because the opportunity gave him a way to meet relatives he had never known. He initially worried that people would accuse him of seeking an easier route or avoiding competitors, but said those concerns were outweighed by the family connections and experiences the change made possible.

Johnson explained that his father was the only one among his siblings on his father’s side born and raised in the United States. His father had never visited Nigeria and had met only a handful of those siblings. Representing Nigeria opened a connection to that part of the family that Johnson said he would otherwise have missed.

He hesitated before accepting the opportunity because he did not know what the change would involve. Meeting relatives helped settle that uncertainty. Johnson said he was grateful for the choice because he would be the person living with it, regardless of what others thought.

At the Nigerian championships, he feared spectators might see him as an outsider, particularly with Samuel Ogazi in his mind as a prominent Nigerian runner. Instead, Johnson said people welcomed and supported him. He put the contrast this way:

I was so prepared for the bad things that I never even considered the good things that could come from all of this.

What did Tyler Johnson experience at the Nigerian championships and on the Canadian tour?

Tyler Johnson’s trip to the Nigerian championships began with canceled flights and little sleep, but he found the track familiar once he arrived in Lagos. His Canadian tour also marked a return to faster 400-meter racing. He hopes to represent Nigeria at the world championships in Beijing and at the African championships.

Flight delays and racing in Lagos

On his first overseas trip, Johnson flew from Raleigh to Atlanta but spent hours aboard a Nigeria-bound plane delayed by storms. The aircraft returned to the gate when a Delta employee became ill, then the flight was canceled after the plane broke down. A replacement flight was canceled too; Johnson secured a seat on another flight while going through airport security.

He arrived close to race day and said he averaged about four hours of sleep a night in the heat and humidity. Lagos felt unfamiliar, but the track gave him a place he knew. Johnson recalled a loud crowd, a band and horns throughout the events, along with support he had not expected.

London, Guelph, Edmonton and Vancouver

On the Canadian competition tour, Johnson raced in London and then Guelph, Ontario, before traveling to Nigeria. He said he first ran 46.0 in London and reached the 45-second range in Guelph for the first time since college. After Nigeria, he ran 45.1 in Edmonton and later went to Vancouver.

The tour brought another family meeting: in London, Johnson met an uncle from Nigeria whom he had not met before. Looking ahead, he named the world championships in Beijing and the African championships as goals, and said he would welcome another chance to race on the Canadian tour.

How does Tyler Johnson balance sprint training with teaching in Durham?

Tyler Johnson trains for sprinting three days a week and cross-trains twice while working full time as a teacher in Durham. He said his coach’s approach lets him train less than he did in college while making progress. His job is physically active, so he pays close attention to recovery.

Training without a college support staff

Johnson credits his coach’s interest in sprinting science for the schedule. College gave him ready access to a training room and staff; now he has to arrange recovery himself. He said his teaching income helps him pay for services such as a massage or a chiropractic visit when needed.

Teaching PE and strength and conditioning

Education was not his original plan, despite both parents, two grandparents and six uncles working in the field. After moving to the Raleigh area, he worked with the Special Olympics, then became an athletic director and PE teacher at a smaller school. He now works at a larger school in Durham.

Johnson teaches PE from pre-K through eighth grade and strength and conditioning as a high-school elective. He said his favorite part is helping students think about character after games: how they respond to wins and losses, consider other people, and try things they are not already good at. Outside school and training, he also serves in church men’s groups and is learning to share his own story.