Former Jamaican sprinter Dennis Johnson has died, just days after it was revealed that he was in hospital suffering from COVID-19.

Johnson, 81, who equalled the world record of 9.3 seconds in the 100-yard dash in 1961, would later become a coach and advisor.

He is revered as the architect of the Jamaican athletics programme, having started a programme in 1971 at the College of Arts, Science and Technology (CAST), which would later become the University of Technology (UTech). While coaching at CAST, the college dominated track and field at the annual Intercollegiate Championships for more than a decade.

He was also instrumental in the creation of the partnership between the UTech and Stephen Francis that resulted in the world-famous MVP Track having its base on the college campus in Papine, St Andrew.

In a statement, Christopher Samuda, president of the Jamaica Olympic Association, said Johnson “was a celebrated architect of Jamaica’s track and field edifice and the quintessential expression of humility in the face of prodigious Olympic and other accomplishments”.

Added Samuda: “He was a world record holder, the character of which transcended the yardage of one hundred (100), which he traversed on the track. He was the coach’s coach who understood the aspirations of his students and embraced the responsibility he had to create excellence.”

Just two years before equalling the world record three times in a six-week span, he was part of the bronze medal winning 4×100 West Indies Federation relay team at the 1959 Pan American Games.

JOHNSON HONOURED THROUGHOUT CAREER

In 1964, at the Tokyo Olympics he finished 4th in the 4 × 100 m relay as a member of the Jamaican team.

In addition to his role as its first director of sports, he served UTech in several capacities including as chairman of the Sport Advisory Council and as Adjunct Associate Professor of Sport Science, He also headed Special Projects for Intercollegiate Sports and was the founder of the Jamaican Inter-Collegiate sports competition.

Johnson, who was affectionately called ‘DJ’ was inducted into the San Jose State Spartans Hall of Fame. In 2001, the same year he was awarded the Order of Distinction (OD) by the government of Jamaica. He was awarded the UTech Chancellor’s medal in 2009 and in 2012, UTech renamed its athletes’ residence, previously known as the Track House, in Johnson’s honour.

Johnson’s death on Thursday brought the number of COVID-19 related deaths in the island to 752 with 44,642 confirmed cases.