Johan Fourie

Who is Johan Fourie?

Johan Fourie is a South African middle-distance athlete who was one of the world's leading 1500m/mile exponents in the 1980s but was prevented from competing internationally in his prime by reason of the sporting sanctions imposed on South Africa in condemnation of the policy of apartheid.

Fourie's best 1500m performance was 3:33.87, a time recorded at the SA Championships in Stellenbosch in 1987 without significant opposition or pacemakers and his best mile time was 3:50.82 recorded in also 1987. During the mid-1980s he trained with Swiss star Pierre Deleuze in Europe. Deleuze, who defeated Sebastian Coe over 1500m in Zurich in 1985 believe that Fourie was capable of running a sub 3:30 1500m given the appropriate race conditions

He was born in Vereeniging in Gauteng Province where he attended school and won his first national 1500m in 1979 while still a junior.

Prevented from competing on international stage, he nevertheless managed to entertain athletics followers in the 1980s which has been characterised as a golden age of South African middle and long distance running.