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Steele Alexander Johnson (born June 16, 1996) is an American former diver. He won the 10-meter platform at the 2013 USA Diving Winter Nationals, is a 15-time junior national champion, and is a four-time champion at the Junior Pan American Games. Johnson made his Olympic debut at the 2016 Rio Games, where he won a silver medal with David Boudia in the men's 10 m synchronized platform diving competition. Johnson is also a six-time senior national champion with USA Diving.
Johnson suffered a potentially fatal head injury on January 21, 2009, at the age of 12. While attempting a reverse 3 somersault in tuck position, he struck his head on the concrete platform. After falling 33 feet into the water below, Johnson was motionless until being rescued by his coach, John Wingfield. According to Johnson, Wingfield helped to limit his blood loss. Johnson has stated that he was hospitalized, that his scalp wound was stapled shut, and that he was diagnosed with only a minor concussion. Johnson resumed diving a month following the accident. In 2016, Johnson revealed that he still suffered from short- and long-term memory loss due to the accident.
In the summer of 2014, with his future Olympic diving teammate, David Boudia, Johnson represented USA Diving at the FINA Diving World Cup. Johnson and Boudia won a bronze medal in the synchronized 10-meter platform.
Johnson redshirted the 2015-2016 diving season to train for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
In December 2016, Johnson received a silver medal on the one-meter springboard at the USA Diving Winter National Championships and qualified for the 2017 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, Hungary. During the 2016 season, Johnson won bronze on three-meter and finished in the top four of all three diving events at the Big 10 Diving Championships. Steele scored a 470.05 points on one-meter, surpassing Boudia's previous record of 468.55 set in 2010. Additionally, Johnson won his first Big Ten Conference title for platform diving with a score of 547.8. Johnson was also named First Team All-Big Ten.
In March 2018, Johnson won his fifth NCAA championship, scoring 499.35 points to win his second championship in a row on the three-meter board.
Johnson underwent surgeries in September 2018 and February 2019 to remedy stress fractures in his right foot and subsequent complications. The foot injury and ensuing surgeries caused him to miss the entire 2018-2019 college diving season. Johnson opted out of his final year of college diving eligibility to turn professional.
In June 2021, Johnson withdrew from the 2020 Olympic trials due to a right foot injury. (The 2020 Olympic Games were postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.) Johnson had been competing on the springboard as an individual and in synchronized diving. In announcing his decision, Johnson said, "'I’ve endured 2 failed surgeries, years on and off of crutches and have pushed as hard as I physically can... My foot has not been healthy for 6 years now, but over the past few months my pain has been increasing to a level that is not sustainable to push through anymore'".
On December 2, 2024, Johnson announced his retirement from the sport of diving.
In December 2025, Johnson announced he has come out of retirement.
Johnson made his acting debut in a student film entitled "Blood And Water".
Johnson appeared as himself on ABC's To Tell the Truth game show hosted by Anthony Anderson on June 4, 2020.
"I wanted to be the kid that had the big injury and came back from it and made the Olympics and all that stuff. So it’s kind of embarrassing. But now I’ve kind of realized that God had his hand over all of it to help me come to the realization, like, that’s not why at all."
“He gave me this ability to dive. Yes, I had that accident. I had that injury. It happens. But I still had the ability to dive, and I still had the passion for diving. So now it's gone from a selfish desire to be like some cool story to a selfless desire, like, God kept me alive and He is still giving me the ability to do what I do."
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