After missing much of 2009, he returned to form in 2010 as he finished as runner-up in the hammer at the 2010 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships (throwing 76.31 m). A personal best throw of 80.31 m at the 2011 USA Outdoors saw Johnson take his first ever national outdoor title. As national champion, he gained his second opportunity to compete on the global stage at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics, but his best throw of 75.06 m in qualifying was not enough to reach the final. He was also chosen to represent his country at the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara. At the competition he improved from his silver in 2007 to take the gold medal with a Pan American Games record mark of 79.63 m, improving Lance Deal's record from 1999.