Tim Johnston (runner)
British long-distance runner (1941–2021)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Timothy Frederick Kembal Johnston (11 March 1941 – 9 October 2021) was a British long-distance runner.[1] He competed at the 1968 Summer Olympics.[2] In 1968, Johnston was a double British national champion and he won the silver medal in the men's event at the 1967 International Cross Country Championships.[3] During the 1960s, Johnston set a British and World record in distance running.[4]
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | British (English) |
| Born | 11 March 1941 Oxford, England |
| Died | 9 October 2021 (aged 80) The Hague, Netherlands |
| Height | 175 cm (5 ft 9 in) |
| Weight | 61 kg (134 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Athletics |
Event | Long-distance running |
| Club | Portsmouth AC Cambridge University AC Achilles Club |
Biography
Johnston was born in Oxford, England in 1941.[1] In the 1950s, he attended Bedales School in Hampshire,[5] before going to Trinity College, Cambridge.[1] At Bedales, Johnston became a two-time Hampshire Schools mile champion.[1] While at Trinity College, he became a cross-country runner.[1]
Johnston finished third behind Maurice Herriott in the steeplechase event at the 1964 AAA Championships.[6]
In 1968, he became the British 6 miles champion and the British marathon champion, after winning the British AAA Championships titles at the 1968 AAA Championships,[7][8] including setting a British record in the six mile event.[9] Later that year, at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, he represented Great Britain in the men's marathon,[10] where he finished in eighth place.[11] Also during the 1960s, Johnston won two Inter-Counties crowns and three Southern titles.[4] Johnston also tried to compete at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, but suffered from an Achilles tendon injury.[1]
Outside of sport, Johnston was also a solicitor and worked at the European Economic Community as a lawyer-linguist.[4] He later went to work at the International Court of Justice in The Hague as a legal translator.[1]
In 2016, Johnston wrote a biography on Otto Peltzer, a German middle distance runner,[12] which was illustrated by fellow Olympian Donald Macgregor.[13]
