Track & Field
- Title:
- Assistant Coach - Throws
- Email:
- jacksonjoh25@ecu.edu
Johnnie Jackson Jr. has established himself as both an elite competitor and rising coach in the throwing events, bringing high-level experience to East Carolina after success on the national and collegiate stages. Following his collegiate career, Jackson continued to compete in the hammer throw at the highest level, qualifying for the finals of the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials where he placed 10th overall, and later earning a spot in the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials. He has been a consistent competitor at the USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships and improved his personal best from 71.72 meters to 74.03 meters during his post-collegiate career. His success began shortly after college when he earned a silver medal at the 2017 USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships in Sacramento.
Prior to joining ECU, Jackson served as a volunteer assistant at University of Alabama athletics under throws coach Derek Yush from 2019 to 2025. During his tenure, he played a key role in developing one of the nation’s top throws groups, assisting in the progression of NCAA National Champion Bobby Colantonio in the weight throw, while also helping produce multiple All-Americans and SEC Champions, including Colantonio, Trenese Hamilton, and Isaac Odugbesan.
As a student-athlete at LSU Track & Field, Jackson was one of the most accomplished throwers in program history. He captured the NCAA Indoor Championship in the weight throw in 2017, becoming just the second Tiger to win the event alongside Walter Henning. He also earned All-America honors in the hammer throw that season with a sixth-place finish at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships and secured SEC silver medals in both the indoor weight throw and outdoor hammer throw. Jackson concluded his LSU career ranked No. 2 all-time in both the weight throw (77-3¾ / 23.56m) and hammer throw (235-4), while also ranking among the program’s top performers in the discus and tying the Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium facility record at Texas A&M with a mark of 22.88 meters. In his first season with the Tigers in 2016, he quickly established himself among the SEC’s top competitors with sixth-place finishes in both the weight throw and hammer throw at the SEC Indoor and Outdoor Championships while qualifying for the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Before LSU, Jackson starred at Coffeyville Community College as one of the nation’s top junior college throwers. He was a two-time national champion in the weight throw at the NJCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships and set the NJCAA indoor national record in 2015 with a throw of 20.54 meters (66-9¼), while also establishing conference and school records. He added two silver medals in the hammer throw at the NJCAA Outdoor Championships and qualified twice in the discus, finishing seventh in 2015. Jackson left Coffeyville as the program’s hammer throw record holder.
A native of Cherry Hill, Jackson graduated from Cherry Hill High School East. He is the son of Johnnie O. Jackson and Niema Payton and has two sisters, Jonessa and Georgia. His father, Johnnie O. Jackson, is an IFBB professional bodybuilder and founder of the annual Johnnie O. Jackson Classic.
