Hall of Fame
Johannesen, a native of Detroit and graduate of Detroit Central HS, is one of Wayne's earliest premiere swimmers. She was a member of Wayne's Griffin Tanksters in the 1934, 1935 and 1936 seasons. During her matriculation at Wayne, Johannesen won four national intercollegiate titles, and was a member of Wayne's first national championship team in any sport.
Johannesen's four national intercollegiate titles came in the 1934 and 1935 National Telegraphic Swim Meet championships. She won the 40-yard Backstroke and 100-yard Backstroke championship titles both years, and upon conclusion of her Wayne career, her times of 28.0 in the 40-yard event and 1:22.7 in the 100-yard event were both University and state records.
Additionally, Johannesen won six Michigan state records as a member of the Detroit Yacht Club's swimming teams, winning state titles in both the 40- and 100-yard backstroke events. Also an accomplished freestyle swimmer, Johannesen won several DYC and City of Detroit championships in both styles of swimming.
For her efforts, Johannesen and fellow Griffin Tankster Doris Shimman were selected by the Detroit News as Michigan's Outstanding women swimmers in 1934. Shimman was inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame in 1985.
In leading Wayne to the school's first-ever national title in 1935, serving as the team's captain, Johannesen helped ease the pain of losing the 1934 NTSM championship. The Griffins had originally been declared the national champions, but a measurement of their pool indicated that their times were inaccurate, and Northwestern was declared the NTSM champion that year.
In the 1930's the NCAA did not sponsor any women's national championships, so the WNCAA sanctioned a national meet in which participating schools swam in their own pools on a predetermined date, under championship conditions, and the results were telegraphed to a central location. Times were compared, and the team and individual champions were declared. In the 1934 nationals, Wayne was declared champion with 23 points.
But in measuring Webster Hall Pool, WSU's home pool, to certify the championship, it was discovered that the south side of the pool measured 75 feet but the north end measured only 74 feet 11 ¾ inches. Since Wayne officials had said the pool was 75 feet in length in their official entry, all times were then recomputed, and this quarter inch discrepancy proved enough to disqualify Wayne from the title. Wayne's new score put the Griffins in second place.
Johannesen was involved in other campus activities at Wayne, serving as her junior class president, working as a staff writer on the Daily Collegian, the campus newspaper, and participating as a member of the Modern Dance Club.
Upon graduation in 1937 with a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education, Johannesen embarked on a 49-year teaching career in the Detroit public schools. 42 of those were spent teaching in the gymnasium. Her last assignment before retirement was at the Greenfield Park Grade School.
Johannesen did not swim competitively again following graduation. She did pursue another sport, however, achieving outstanding success in equestrian riding, capturing numerous riding champions and Rider-of-the-year awards throughout Michigan during a career that spanned five decades. She also spent several summers in the late 1930's serving as a riding instructor at a resort in the Adirondack Mountains.
Johannesen's sister, Borghild, was a former national champion diver at in the 1920's, and was a teammate of Johannesen's on the DYC teams. Johannesen also has a brother, Ralph. Single, Johannesen resides in Royal Oak.
