Jack Foster

Personal information
Born	(1932-05-23)23 May 1932 Liverpool, England
Died	5 June 2004(2004-06-05) (aged 72) Rotorua, New Zealand
Medal record Men'sathletics Representing New Zealand Commonwealth Games 1974 Christchurch Marathon

John Charles Foster (23 May 1932 – 5 June 2004) was along-distance runner born inLiverpool, England. At first a cyclist, who didn't start running until he was 32,^[1] he represented New Zealand in the men's marathon at twoSummer Olympics atMunich, West Germany (1972) andMontreal, Canada (1976). He made the team for the 1975International Cross Country Championships, where his country took the title.^[1] A resident ofRotorua, he won the silver medal in the marathon at the1974 Commonwealth Games inChristchurch with a master's world record time of 2:11:18.6 at the age of 41. Two years earlier, he had set a world record for 20 miles at 1:39:14.^[2]

Foster is featured in the New Zealand short film "On the Run" aboutArthur Lydiard influenced athletes. In the final scene, Foster shows the highlight of his training is a 3,000 foot run down a 45 degreescree hill.^[3]

He was killed while riding his bicycle in Rotorua.^[1]

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing New Zealand
1970	Commonwealth Games	Edinburgh, Scotland	4th	Marathon	2:14:44
	Fukuoka Marathon	Fukuoka, Japan	4th	Marathon	2:12:17.8
1971	Fukuoka Marathon	Fukuoka, Japan	3rd	Marathon	2:13:42.4
1972	Olympic Games	Munich, Germany	8th	Marathon	2:16:56[4]
1973	Kyoto Marathon	Kyoto, Japan	1st	Marathon	2:14:53.4
1974	Commonwealth Games	Christchurch, New Zealand	2nd	Marathon	2:11:18.6 PR
1975	Honolulu Marathon	Honolulu, Hawaii	1st	Marathon	2:17:24
1976	Auckland Marathon	Auckland, New Zealand	1st	Marathon	2:16:27
	Olympic Games	Montréal, Canada	17th	Marathon	2:17:53
1978	New York City Marathon	New York City, United States	6th	Marathon	2:17:28

• New Zealand Olympic Committee^{[dead link]}

This biographical article relating to New Zealand athletics is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it.

• v
• t
• e

• 1932 births
• 2004 deaths
• New Zealand men long-distance runners
• Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics
• Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics
• Olympic athletes for New Zealand
• World record setters in the sport of athletics
• Athletes (track and field) at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games
• Athletes (track and field) at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games
• Commonwealth Games silver medallists for New Zealand
• Sportspeople from Rotorua
• Road incident deaths in New Zealand
• Athletes from Liverpool
• New Zealand masters athletes
• English emigrants to New Zealand
• Cycling road incident deaths
• Medallists at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games
• 20th-century New Zealand sportsmen
• Commonwealth Games silver medallists in athletics
• New Zealand athletics biography stubs

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from April 2025
• All articles with dead external links
• Articles with dead external links from April 2025
• All stub articles