Coached by her father while at
Atascadero High School in central California, Chelsea won the pole vault at the 2002
CIF California State Meet. Two years earlier she had placed fifth in the 300 hurdles, behind future
World Championship performers
Lashinda Demus and
Nichole Denby. As a college athlete at
UCLA, Johnson is a two-time
NCAA champion, having won the pole vault at the
2004 NCAA Track and Field Championship and the
2006 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship. At the
2009 World Athletics Championships in
Berlin, Johnson tied for silver alongside
Monika Pyrek of
Poland with a jump of 4.65 metres. The following year, she won at the
Millrose Games and was selected for the
2010 World Indoor Championships. Johnson did not qualify to compete in the pole vault final, finishing in 11th place in the qualification round. She decided to retire from the sport at the age of 27, saying that her enthusiasm for competition had waned. == Personal bests ==