SAULT STE. MARIE — There was once a time when Johnny Osborn just wanted a chance to compete like everyone else.
Born with cerebral palsy, Osborn has alway been determined to not let it get in his way.
“Back in fourth grade I ran with my forearm crutches doing cross country and I go through and tell people in the adaptive group and they think that’s super crazy,” Osborn, now a senior at Sault Ste. Marie said. “But, that’s how I started.”
From that young boy just looking for a chance, to where he is now amazes even Osborn.
He’ll leave Sault Ste. Marie with track and field adaptive athlete school records and after graduation, he’ll head to the University of Michigan, joining the U-of-M adaptive track and field program.
“When I was growing up, I never thought I’d have a record for anything. So, it’s awesome,” he said. “To have it become all of this, it’s amazing.”
Osborn may have been dealt a hurdle early in life, but he’s done nothing but leap over everything in his way.
He joined the Sault track and field program as a freshman, not exactly equipped with the right tools for the job.
“My first meet, I raced in a basketball wheel chair and that was a whole world of a difference,” Osborn said with a little grin.
Now, his latest wheelchair roller is something to marvel at, Sault Ste. Marie blue and U-of-M logo on the side included.
“It’s been huge,” he said of having the improved roller. “You lock the front wheel and then the back two wheels have a spinner, so it’s like a treadmill almost.”
Osborn competes in the 100-, 200- and 400-meter dashes, along with the shot put for the Blue Devils.
You’ll see him take test runs around the track beforehand, calibrating ahead of each race.
So far in 2025, Osborn has competed in a pair of meets, including Petoskey’s most recent hosted event.
“Last year, (Petoskey) was my first meet of the year, but this year I was able to go to the LSSU meet indoor, so I was able to get some practice there and practice with my roller,” Osborn said. “I was able to practice over the snow and stuff, so I had a really good race.”
In Petoskey, Osborn set personal bests across a number of events, finishing the 100 in 23.68 seconds, the 400 in 1:25.40 and the shot put with a distance of 32-feet, 6.5-inches, all PRs. He also topped his time in the 200 from LSSU, finishing in 47.26 seconds.
“I’ve grown so much, my form has gotten better,” a proud Osborn said. “I’m happy that I get to be here and compete. This is a wonderful facility and group that has allowed me to have a great experience here.”
While he’s happy to just compete, Osborn loves the fact that he has something to work towards now through the MHSAA, with an adaptive athlete state finals to work for.
“My freshman year, the MHSAA said that adaptive sports were approved for a pilot program and if we got enough kids to participate, we would be able to make it a permanent category in the state of Michigan,” he said.
He competed at states his freshman year and each year since, with few competitors to start, but it’s growing.
“We had three athletes from the U.P my freshman year and two from down state, then last season we had 19 athletes from the state of Michigan, so it has grown,” Osborn said. “My junior year was when it got approved for a permanent category, so it’s here to stay.”
There’s another addition the MHSAA made that Osborn is thrilled about as well: the chance to score for his team. While he doesn’t have that opportunity everywhere he goes, Petoskey’s meet made it so.
“I got to score points (in Petoskey), which I’m grateful for,” he said. “That’s up to the hosting school. So when I beat a standard set by the MHSAA, I get the opportunity to score a point for my team.”
Over the last four years competing, Osborn has met numerous in the adaptive circle that he now considers friends and has had the opportunity to meet paralympians and world record holders in track and field.
“The adaptive sports community, you’re not going to get much better than that,” Osborn said. “They’re so supportive and they love doing this and I’m happy that it’s here to stay in Michigan and I can’t wait for it to keep growing.”
To get to where he is today in the sport, Osborn is incredibly thankful for the support of everyone around him, from his mother, Andrea, helping him through meets, to his coaches and the schools that let him compete on race days.
He can barely contain his excitement to head to Michigan next season, thinking back to those elementary days just looking for an opportunity.
“I’m so excited, I can’t wait,” Osborn added. “To say that I’ve done that, it’s been my dream since I was in fourth grade. To have it be real is beyond words. I have to thank everyone that’s been along for my journey. They made me who I am and I get to do amazing things because of it.”
Contact or send game stats/info to Sports Editor Drew Kochanny at [email protected]. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DrewKochanny, and Instagram, @drewkochanny
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