John Charles Foster (May 23, 1932 – June 5, 2004) was a former long-distance runner born in Liverpool

Liverpool

Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. He represented New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 in the men's marathon at two Summer Olympics of Munich, West Germany

1972 Summer Olympics

The 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from August 26 to September 11, 1972....

 (1972) and Montreal, Canada

1976 Summer Olympics

The 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1976. Montreal was awarded the rights to the 1976 Games on May 12, 1970, at the 69th IOC Session in Amsterdam, over the bids of Moscow and...

 (1976). A resident of Rotorua

Rotorua

Rotorua is a city on the southern shores of the lake of the same name, in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand. The city is the seat of the Rotorua District, a territorial authority encompassing the city and several other nearby towns...

, he won the silver medal in the marathon at the 1974 Commonwealth Games in Christchurch

Christchurch

Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...

 with a master's world record time of 2:11:19 at the age of 41. Two years earlier, he had set a world record for 20 miles at 1:39:14.

He was killed while out riding his bicycle in Rotorua

Rotorua

Rotorua is a city on the southern shores of the lake of the same name, in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand. The city is the seat of the Rotorua District, a territorial authority encompassing the city and several other nearby towns...

.

Achievements

Representing
1972	Olympic Games	Munich Munich Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...	8th	Marathon	2:16:56
1975	Honolulu Marathon Honolulu Marathon The Honolulu Marathon is one of the world's largest marathons. It takes place annually in Honolulu, Hawaii on the second Sunday in December. - History :...	Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...	1st	Marathon	2:17:24
1976	Olympic Games Athletics at the 1976 Summer Olympics At the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, 37 events were contested in athletics. There were a total number of 1006 participating athletes from 80 countries.-Men's events:-Women's events:-Medal table:-References:**...	Montréal, Canada	17th	Marathon	2:17:53

Personal bests

Distance	Time	Place	Date
25000 m	1:16:29 NR New Zealand records in athletics The following are the national records in athletics in New Zealand maintained by New Zealand's national athletics federation: Athletics New Zealand ....	Hamilton	1971
30000 m	1:32:19 NR New Zealand records in athletics The following are the national records in athletics in New Zealand maintained by New Zealand's national athletics federation: Athletics New Zealand ....	Hamilton	1971
Marathon	2:11.19	Christchurch	1974