Wes Johnson

University of Arizona Vice President and Director of Athletics Dave Heeke announced the hiring of Wes Johnson as Arizona Triathlon’s first-ever head coach in December of 2022. Johnson has spent the previous nine years as National Team Coach for USA Triathlon across a variety of elite international competitions, including World Championships, Paralympic Games and Pan American Championships.

The inaugural season of Arizona Triathlon in 2023 was an overwhelming success under Johnson’s leadership as the program capped the season with a top-five finish at the Collegiate Triathlon National Championships. The Wildcats had a trio of student-athletes in Laura Holánszky, Lydia Russell and Dana Prikrylová all receiving All-American honors from the College Triathlon Coaches Association. Holánszky and Russell fulfilled one of Johnson’s chief tenants of the program; competing at the highest levels. The duo raced at the U23 Triathlon World Championships in Spain in September of 2023 for the United States and Hungarian national teams.

Johnson has earned a bevy of coaching awards in his career that include being named the 2021 USA Triathlon Developmental Coach of the Year. Two years prior, he earned Paralympic Coach of the Year honors from USA Triathlon and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee. His international experience also includes championship success at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where he coached Grace Norman to a gold medal and Chris Hammer to a fourth-place finish.