When it comes to sport for athletes with mental disabilities, Dan Johnson was always ahead of his time.

In the late 1970’s, Johnson was teaching physical education at Prince Charles School, a school for individuals with mental disabilities. He started involving his students in cross-country running as a way to develop their physical fitness, becoming the first phys-ed teacher to enter athletes with mental disabilities into high-school cross-country events.

Johnson and former NHL player Ted Irvine took a team of Manitoba athletes to the 1978 Canadian Special Olympics Games in Regina. When Johnson returned he quit his teaching job to dedicate his energies full-time to getting Special Olympics off the ground in Manitoba.

The answer was the development of a club system, where individuals with mental disabilities could go to work on their athletic skills. In 1980, Manitoba Special Olympics (MSO) was created with Johnson personally recruiting the first Board of Directors and becoming the Executive Director.

Under Johnson’s guidance, MSO grew from one club in 1979 to 125 clubs throughout the province in five years, serving 1,500 athletes. He was instrumental in the development of sports such as snowshoeing and rhythmic gymnastics in Special Olympics and having them recognized as national sports.

Johnson wrote what would eventually be accepted as the program model for Canadian Special Olympics. He also was the driving force behind the Medallion athlete training program under which athletes who had qualified for national championships would receive more intensive, full-time training to prepare for the next level.

Johnson also fought hard for the rights of Special Olympics athletes. He also laboured to upgrade volunteer coaches, developing a training program which was accepted into the National Coaching Certification Program.