# Johan Fourie

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{{short description|South African middle-distance runner}}
{{for|the South African cricketer|Johan Fourie (cricketer)}}
{{BLP sources|date=April 2011}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| name = Johan Fourie
| nationality = South African
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1959|12|02}}
| birth_place = Springs, Gauteng, South Africa
| sport = Athletics
| event = Middle-distance running
| coach = Pierre Délèze
| pb = {{nowrap|1500m: 3:33.87 (1987)}}
| medaltemplates =
{{MedalSport|Men's [athletics](/source/Sport_of_athletics)}}
{{MedalCountry|{{RSA}}}}
{{MedalCompetition|[African Championships](/source/African_Championships_in_Athletics)}} 
{{MedalBronze|[1993 Durban](/source/1993_African_Championships_in_Athletics)|1500 m}}
}}
'''Johan Fourie''' (born December 2, 1959) is a South African [middle-distance](/source/Middle_distance_track_event) [athlete](/source/Sportsperson) who was one of the world's leading 1500m/mile exponents in the 1980s but was prevented from competing internationally in his prime due to the sporting [sanctions](/source/International_sanctions) imposed on South Africa in condemnation of the policy of [apartheid](/source/apartheid).<ref><cite>{{cite web |author=Richard Meyer |date=2010-03-13 |title=Where are they now: 1500m king Johan Fourie |url=https://www.timeslive.co.za/sport/2010-03-13-where-are-they-now-1500m-king-johan-fourie/ |publisher=TimesLIVE}}</cite></ref>

Fourie's best 1500m performance was 3:33.87, a time recorded at the SA Championships in [Stellenbosch](/source/Stellenbosch) in 1987 without significant opposition or [pacemakers](/source/Pacemaker_(running)) and his best mile time was 3:50.82 also recorded in 1987. During the mid-1980s he trained with Swiss Pierre Délèze in Europe. Délèze, who defeated [Sebastian Coe](/source/Sebastian_Coe) over 1500m in [Zurich](/source/Zurich) in 1985, believed that Fourie was capable of running a sub 3:30 1500m, given the appropriate race conditions <ref name="Mayer" >Mayer (2009) "Van Deventer a Bright Ray of Sunshine" ''2009 PUK South African Athletics Annual'', p. 12./></ref>

He was born in [Springs](/source/Springs%2C_Gauteng) and raised in [Vereeniging](/source/Vereeniging) in [Gauteng Province](/source/Gauteng_Province), where he attended school and won his first national 1500m in 1977 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. Apart from running more than 50 sub-four miles, he also ran two sub-four miles in one hour and in 1984 was awarded the Beinart award by the [South African Athletics Statisticians](/source/South_African_Athletics_Statisticians) for being the top ranked South African athlete in the world in 1983.<ref>''1984 South African Athletics Annual''</ref>

==Personal life==
Johan married 400m distance Springbok athlete Marinda Fourie in 1989. They have two children, Rico Fourie and Shan Fourie. Johan and his family currently live in [Stellenbosch](/source/Stellenbosch), [South Africa](/source/South_Africa). He and his wife coach "The Dogsquad" 
athletics group.

==References==
{{reflist}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Fourie, Johan}}
Category:1959 births
Category:Living people
Category:Sportspeople from Vereeniging
Category:Athletes from Gauteng
Category:South African men middle-distance runners
Category:20th-century South African sportsmen

{{SouthAfrica-athletics-bio-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Johan Fourie](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johan_Fourie) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johan_Fourie?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.