Kibwé Johnson, SPIRE’s Director of Track & Field and Head Coach is honored to have recently been appointed to the Athletic Advisory Committee at USA Track & Field (USATF) after numerous years of volunteering.

USATF maintains a mission, “To communicate the interests, protect, and further the rights and privileges of USA Track & Field athletes. The Athletes Advisory Committee (AAC) collaborates with the sport committees of USA Track & Field (USATF) and encourages the direction and decision-making of the USATF national office” (USATF).

As The National Governing Body for track and field, long-distance running, and race walking in the U.S., USATF develops and selects Team USATF, the leading representative team for the United States. This organization also works with many different levels of track and field athletics, offering leadership for school-aged, prep, collegiate, and adult track and field programs and competitions. Every year they also sanction more than 8,000 events, including the Junior Olympics.

Johnson’s role within the USATF

Johnson recently sat down for an interview where he described how despite his being an AAC volunteer, this opportunity still came as a surprise to him. Discussing his role within the organization he said, “Our job is to look out for the state of USA track & field & making sure it is healthy & keeping it moving forward & growing the interest in the sport.”

Explaining his involvement within the USATF, Johnson said that he is interested in the high performance of athletes. He hopes by serving on this committee, to be able to garner more publicity for the sport. He expressed how he hopes to see track and field grow, “I like the opportunity to be part of change on multiple levels…I want the track and field program to be healthier than when I found it.”

Impact On SPIRE

Johnson enjoys helping SPIRE’s athletes have opportunities they wouldn’t have anywhere else. He sees his role with USATF as continuing to benefit SPIRE. He hopes by serving on this committee, to have more conversations about track and field, develop relationships and explore more opportunities for SPIRE’s student-athletes. Coaching athletes who are performing at the highest level within the sport gives him unapparelled knowledge and experience which he can bring to SPIRE.