John Systad was a Norwegian

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

 long-distance runner who specialized in the marathon race. He represented TIF Viking

TIF Viking

Turn & Idrettsforeningen Viking is a Norwegian sports club from Bergenhus, Bergen. It has sections for gymnastics, athletics, race walking, orienteering, volleyball, handball and skiing....

 in Bergen.

He finished twelfth at the 1946 European Championships

1946 European Championships in Athletics

The 3rd European Athletics Championships were held from 22 August to 25 August 1946 in the Bislett Stadion in Oslo, Norway . For the first time it was a combined event for men and women, and for the first time a city in Scandinavia hosted the championships....

, eighth at the 1948 Summer Olympics

1948 Summer Olympics

The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in London, England, United Kingdom. After a 12-year hiatus because of World War II, these were the first Summer Olympics since the 1936 Games in Berlin...

, ninth at the 1950 European Championships

1950 European Championships in Athletics

The 4th European Athletics Championships were held from 23 August to 27 August 1950 in the Heysel Stadium of the Belgian capital Brussels.-Track:-Field:-Track:-Field:-Medals table:- External links :* *...

 and finally 34th at the 1952 Summer Olympics

1952 Summer Olympics

The 1952 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Helsinki, Finland in 1952. Helsinki had been earlier given the 1940 Summer Olympics, which were cancelled due to World War II...

. He became Norwegian marathon champion in the years 1950-1953 and 1955.

His personal best time was 2:32:16 hours, achieved in October 1956 in Sandvika

Sandvika

is the administrative centre of the municipality of Bærum in Norway. It was declared a city by the municipal council in Bærum on 4 June 2003.Sandvika is situated approximately west of Oslo. It is the main transportation hub for Western Bærum, and has a combined bus and railway station. Sandvika is...

.

Achievements

Representing
1952	Olympic Games Athletics at the 1952 Summer Olympics At the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, 33 athletics events were contested, 24 for men and 9 for women. There were a total number of 963 participating athletes from 57 countries.-Medal table:-Men's events:-Women's events:-References:...	Helsinki, Finland	34th	Marathon	2:41:29.8 Athletics at the 1952 Summer Olympics – Men's marathon -Results:...