 Foster at the 1972 Olympics | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
Nickname | Big Bren |
| Born | (1948-01-12)12 January 1948 (age 78) Hebburn,County Durham, England |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) |
| Weight | 10 st 10 lb (150 lb; 68 kg) |
| Relative | James Scully GC (uncle) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Athletics |
Event(s) | 1500 m, 5,000 m, 10,000 m |
| Club | Gateshead Harriers |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personalbest(s) | 1500 m – 3:37.64 (1974) 5,000 m – 13:14.60 (1974) 10,000 m – 27:30.30 (1978) |
Sir Brendan FosterCBE (born 12 January 1948)[1] is a British formerlong-distance runner, athletics commentator and road race organiser. He founded theGreat North Run, one of the sport's most high profilehalf-marathon races. As an athlete, he won the bronze medal in the10,000 metres at the1976 Summer Olympics and the gold medal in the5,000 metres at the1974 European Championships and the 10,000 metres at the1978 Commonwealth Games. He later provided commentary and analysis on athletics, particularly long-distance events, forBBC Sport.
Educated atSt Joseph's RC Grammar School in Hebburn, theUniversity of Sussex andCarnegie College of Physical Education, Foster returned to St Joseph's Grammar School as a chemistry teacher. His pupils included footballer turned managerPhil Brown, whom he tried to encourage to take up running overfootball.[2]
Brendan Foster's athletic career saw him compete in threeOlympic Games, claiming Britain's only track and field medal (bronze in the 10,000 metres) at the 1976 Montreal Olympics. In 1973 he broke the World Record fortwo miles atCrystal Palace with a time of 8:13.68. In 1974 he won a silver medal in the Commonwealth Games in Christchurch in a time of 13:14.60 behind Ben Jipcho before winning the European Championships 5,000m, beating Olympic championLasse Virén en route to Gold in 13:17.20. When the then world record was within reach, he ran the final lap in a relatively leisurely 62 seconds after establishing a commanding lead before it. In the same year he broke the 3,000m World Record on his home track,Gateshead International Stadium with a time of 7:35.10. That year, Foster was awarded the BBC's prestigiousSports Personality of the Year award.
He established his personal best in the 10,000 m with a time of 27:30.30 run at Crystal Palace on 23 June 1978, while also winning 10,000 m gold at the 1978Commonwealth Games inEdmonton.
Foster only placed fourth in the 1978 European Athletics Championships 10,000-metre race, but he ran faster than any 10,000-metre European Champion has run ever since (see various European countries' books about the European Athletics Championships from 1982 to 2006). Foster finished fifth in the 1976 Olympics 5,000-metre final, just 1.4 seconds behind the winner,Lasse Viren ofFinland. Foster lost all his three Olympic races against Viren – 5,000 and 10,000 m in 1976 and 10,000 m in 1980.[3][4][5] In the preliminaries to the 1976 5,000 m race he broke Viren's Olympic record running 13:20.34. That record would hold through the final until it was surpassed in the final of the 1984 Olympics.
Foster's final major race was the 1980 Olympics 10,000-metre final, where he finished eleventh, almost 40 seconds behind the winner, Ethiopia'sMiruts Yifter.[3]
Foster was the three-timeBritish 5,000 metres champion (1973, 1974, 1976) and twiceBritish 10,000 metres champion (1977 and 1978). The five titles were achieved at theAAA Championships.[6][7]
In 2010, he was inducted into theEngland Athletics Hall of Fame.
Brendan joined the sports companyNike in 1981 as UK managing director. Progressing to European managing director, Vice-President Marketing (Worldwide) and Vice-President ofNike Europe. In 1988 he set up a company, Nova International with three friends from Nike.[8] This company was later renamed to View From International, which won a contract to supply the British athletics team. The brand was later sold toMarks and Spencer in 2002 for an estimated £2m.[9][10]
After retiring following the Moscow Olympics in 1980, Foster worked forBBC Sport, commentating and reporting on athletics at major events from 1983 to 2017.
In 1977, he helped organise the "Gateshead Fun Run", a pioneering running event.[11] In 1981, Foster founded theGreat North Run, an annualhalf marathon fromNewcastle upon Tyne toSouth Shields. The race became the biggest running event in the UK, and one of the biggest half marathons in the world. By 2014, the race had been run by over 1 million competitors, the firstIAAF event to pass this milestone.[12][13] Foster ran in the 2003 event for the first time in many years, after being challenged to do so by radio presenterRay Stubbs.[14]
Foster has also promoted sport inEthiopia and other African countries.[1]
Foster wasChancellor ofLeeds Metropolitan University from 2005 to 2009.[15] Foster was appointed aMember of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the1976 New Year Honours for services to athletics, and promoted toCommander of the same Order (CBE) in the2008 New Year Honours for services to sport.[16][17] In December 2016 Foster was given the Freedom of the City ofNewcastle, the city's highest honour.[18] In August 2017, in recognition to his major contributions to the advancements of athletics, at a ceremony in London, Foster was awarded theIAAF highest award, the Golden Order of Merit.[19] Foster wasknighted in the2020 Birthday Honours for ‘services to international and national sport and to culture in North East England’.[20][21]
| Records | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Men's 3,000m World Record Holder 3 August 1974 – 27 June 1978 | Succeeded by |
| Awards | ||
| Preceded by | BBC Sports Personality of the Year 1974 | Succeeded by |
| Sporting positions | ||
| Preceded by | Men's 3.000m Best Year Performance 1973–74 | Succeeded by |
Commonwealth Games champions in men's10,000 metres | |
|---|---|
| 6 miles (1930–1966) | |
| 10,000 metres (1970–present) |
|
European Athletics Championships champions in men's5000 metres | |
|---|---|
|
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
