Three-time world champion hurdler Greg Foster dies at 64

The track and field community mourns U.S. hurdling legend and pioneer Greg Foster.

U.S. sprint hurdling legend Greg Foster, who is the only hurdler to win three straight world championships, died Sunday at 64, according to UCLA track and field.

The university said Foster died peacefully at his home after a long battle with amyloid disease, a condition in which amyloid proteins build up on organs like the heart, kidney and liver. In 2020, Foster underwent a heart transplant and chemotherapy.

His 13.22-second winning time in the 110m hurdle at the 1978 NCAA Championships remains a UCLA record.

He was world champion in 1983, 1987 and 1991, and Olympic silver medalist at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

In 1987, Foster set the world indoor record for the 50 meters hurdles and also broke the 60 meters hurdles record in the same year, with a time of 7.36 seconds.

At the 1987 world indoor championships, he famously collided with Canada’s Mark McKoy in the final of the 60m hurdles. The two were competitive rivals until both men retired from the sport in 1996. 

Ato Bolden, the four-time Olympic medallist from Trinidad and Tobago and current NBC Sports analyst, remembered Foster on Twitter. “Legendary UCLA Bruin 110m hurdler Greg Foster passed away tonight,” he wrote. “He was world champion in 1983, 1987 and 1991, and Olympic silver medalist in 1984. My deepest condolences to his family and friends. The track and field world mourns this hurdling legend.”

His competitor, two-time world hurdles champ Colin Jackson of Great Britain, reflected on Foster’s death in Athletics Weekly.“Greg was an inspiration for me. I watched his hurdle skill work, spoke to him about how I could improve and competed with him,” said Jackson. “His input eventually allowed me to take the world title & championship record off him.”

Foster was inducted into the U.S. National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1998.

posted Tuesday February 21st
by Running Magazine