Did anybody see that former NAU great Johanna Nilsson died. Here is the link from NAU-
http://nauathletics.com/sports/xc/2013-14/releases/201310186zaeg4
So sad to her this. Does anybody know what happened?
Did anybody see that former NAU great Johanna Nilsson died. Here is the link from NAU-
http://nauathletics.com/sports/xc/2013-14/releases/201310186zaeg4
So sad to her this. Does anybody know what happened?
Didn't she win an NCCA XC title as well? The NAU press release doesn't mention it.
This is really sad, but why is it coming out now when she passed away in June? A search on Google shows up nothing.
I also read about this yesterday and was shocked!! I wondered the same thing...why is this coming out so late?? She passed back in June and just now NAU releases a statement? Maybe they just found out as well. Who knows but it is really sad. She was such a talent.
2005 NCAA cross country champion
2005 European cross country bronze medalist
2006 NCAA indoor mile champion and 3,000 indoor champion
No details about how she died. RIP Johanna.
Wasn't she also 3000mSC champion ? At Texas?
No, Johanna never ran the steeple, but her sister Ida was and won an NCAA championship in the steeple for NAU.
Terrible news for sure.
What? Does anybody know the cause of death? Had to be an accident for her to die so young.
Suicide. Her brother said it was "her own decision".
We've known about this for some time. LetsRun.com co-founder, Weldon Johnson, who knew Johanna when they were both in Flagstaff is working on a piece on her life and passing.
To stop the speculation, we will confirm the cause of death was indeed suicide.
Hopefully, weldon's piece gets done this week.
What a tragedy. Really hits close to home when it's someone around your age, young, and someone you either knew or watched. Crazy. People aren't meant to be dying this young. I figured it must have been suicide since no information was given for the cause of death. Tragic.
In the early days of Flotrack Mark Floreani interviewed John Hayes about her. Here is the link: http://www.flotrack.org/speaker/7-John-Hayes/video/100-Johanna-Nilsson
From the interview it sounds like she was somewhat of a free spirit. She quit running after her freshman year and went to India for 6 months? who does that? It sounds like she was trying to find herself or what made her happy. Running didn't make her happy even though she had all the talent in the world. Maybe she was battling some demons inside and could not find anything to motivate her, or keep her interested. This is so tragic. I hope she is in a better place and finally found peace and happiness wherever she is now :(
true, not kidding wrote:
Suicide. Her brother said it was "her own decision".
That is a terrible thing to have happened.
People in that frame of mind should just wait, look on the bright side. If there's just one good thing left to do then do that, and then find another one. Just keep putting it off and you will keep finding more reasons to keep living.
It looks like she was virtually unknown in her home country. There is almost no info about her on Swedish websites (I understand some Swedish).
This is terribly sad. It sounds like she was one who marched to the beat of her own drum.
She was as beautiful a person as anyone i've met, never interested just in the surface fluff of things. i'll miss her showing up at my door in Flagstaff unannounced every year or so, our hikes in the wild places around that town, and long, real chats with such a genuine, true person. You will be so dearly missed, Johanna.
And, a few videos of her kicking ass.
I knew it was suicide when I read the thread title, based on what I remembered from that Flotrack interview. Seeing it again, I give huge props to John Hayes for his even-keel surmise of the situation at the time. Many coaches would hold on to the negative aspects, including that she was the type of talent that might come along only once in a coaching career and yet she walked away (having Lomong probably helped a lot).
So sad, and I can only imagine what it is like for her sister.