Two Husker track and field national champions had long journeys to the gold, starting on opposite sides of the world

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Axelina Johansson and Tyus Wilson won individual indoor national championships this year in women’s shot put and men’s high jump, respectively.

Johansson’s win is the first women’s NCAA indoor title in 20 years at Nebraska. Wilson earned an indoor gold medal for the men’s team, the program’s first in 16 years.

Both are seniors from a small town.

Johansson is from Hok, Sweden, a small village in the southern part of the country about four hours from Stockholm.

Wilson grew up in Sterling, Kansas, with oceans of wheat and soybean fields surrounding him. His hometown is four hours from Lincoln and 70 miles northwest of Wichita.

The two towns, each with fewer than 2,300 people, are separated by more than 4,700 miles. Yet, Johansson and Wilson found their way to Nebraska, breaking records in the process.

Johansson’s parents have never been to the United States. They weren’t able to travel for the indoor championships in Virginia Beach, either. But they called her immediately after she won.

“They were screaming and were super happy,” Johansson said. She threw the shot 63’-3 ¼” to capture the gold.

The indoor title was a long-time coming, she said.

“Two years ago, I placed second at nationals,” Johansson said. “I was pretty devastated after that, so I really wanted to win the title this year.”

It was Johansson’s first indoor title, but she won the outdoor shot put championship in 2023.

Johansson’s accolades don’t end there. She’s also an Olympian who competed under the Swedish flag during the 2024 Paris Games, placing 10th in shot put. Johansson had not been to Paris prior to the games. Focused on her event, the Swedish-native didn’t have much time to explore Paris.

“But I got to see it a little bit the day after I competed,” Johansson said. “We went to the Eiffel Tower, and it was very pretty.”

Pictures of the Eiffel Tower don’t do it justice, she said.

Having competed at the Olympics, Johansson is no stranger to success. She predicts there could be more indoor championships on the horizon under Big Red head coach Justin St. Claire.

“We are building a very good training culture and team,” Johansson said. “I think we're going to see some big things in a few years.”

Specifically, the women’s throwing program at NU has improved. Three Husker women earned all-America honors in the shot put alone, which is a school record. Johansson holds the school record and Swedish record for longest shot put toss at 63’-4 ¼”. That throw happened at the Indoor Big Ten Championships this season.

College athletes keep improving, Johansson said. The best throws at the NCAA indoor meet would have placed highly at the Olympics.

But “the Olympics are the Olympics,” she said. Wearing your country's colors at the Olympics is the biggest achievement for any athlete, Johansson said.

4,700 miles west of Sweden, Wilson was raised on a Kansas farm in the central parts of the state. But track and field is in his blood.

“My mom was a really elite, really good jumper: high jump, triple jump, long jump,” Wilson said. “She had the state records in high school and her college record (at Sterling College).”

His father was also a high jumper at Sterling College, clearing 6’-10” as his personal best. Despite the success of his folks, he discovered high jump on his own accord.

“I had a lot of good coaching growing up, but they never pushed it on me,” Wilson said.

After taking home the silver medal at the 2024 NCAA Outdoor Championships, Wilson struck gold this year by clearing 7’-5 ¾” at the national indoor meet. That was his best indoor mark.

With each passing practice and meet, Wilson could see himself building up to national title contention.

His coach consistently challenged him and guided him to earn the championship, Wilson said, bringing the indoor championship full circle.

“The last person to win a men’s indoor title was my jumps coach right now, Dusty Jonas,” Wilson said.

He’s the first national champion Jonas has coached.

“I remember when he was recruiting me, he said ‘You're the first person that I've recruited in a long time that I think could potentially break my school record,’ which he's a 7’-9” jumper,” Wilson said. “That was a pretty tall order.”

The senior is humbled that it took four years to win a national title and hopes the trophy can make his hometown proud.

Heading into the outdoor season, which recently kicked off this spring, Wilson has a few goals in mind. He wants to defend his title at the NCAA Championships starting June 11, hosted by Oregon University.

His other goals are “to go professionally and to try to get into a world meet and do well again at the U.S.A. trials,” Wilson said.

Johansson said she will take a redshirt year during the outdoor season. She will continue traveling the world and seeing new places, as she hopes to compete at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo starting Sept. 13.

A total of 12 Cornhuskers competed at the NCAA Indoor Championships. The Husker men placed 12th, with the women’s team finishing 20th.