A former Texas Tech track standout and U.S. Olympian has been inducted into a hall of fame.

Jonathan Johnson was inducted into the Big Country Athletic Hall of Fame in Abilene Monday evening.

Johnson was one of eight inductees honored as part of the 2013 class.

He became the first Texas Tech male athlete to qualify for the U.S. Olympic team in 2004, when he finished first overall in the finals of the 800-meter at the Olympic Trials in Sacramento.

Johnson took the 2006 NCAA Outdoor 800-meter Championship, becoming the first male track and field national champion in school history, as well as being a four-time Big 12 Champion and a nine-time All-American.

“It’s really hard to explain in words what this means to me,” said Johnson. “If I did have to use one word, it would be triumph. The reason I say that is because I feel like it solidifies everything I did as an athlete and individual during my athletic career.”

Johnson was joined at the ceremony by Texas Tech Head Track and Field Coach Wes Kittley, who was inducted into this particular hall of fame in 2006, and coached Johnson from his Texas Tech career, which spanned from 2002 through 2005.

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