John Allan Farrington (2 July 1942 – 15 June 2025) was an

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance ru ...

from Australia, who represented his native country in the men's marathon at the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Mexico 1968 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968, in Mexico City, Mexico. These were the first Ol ...

. There he finished in 43rd position, clocking 2:50:16.8. He came in fifth in the same event at the

1974 Commonwealth Games The 1974 British Commonwealth Games () were held in Christchurch, New Zealand, from 24 January to 2 February 1974. The bid vote was held in Edinburgh at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games. The event was officially named "the friendly games". T ...

. Farrington claimed four national titles in the marathon (1969, 1970, 1974, and 1975). His PR in the marathon came at the 1973 New South Wales Championships in which he ran 2:11:12.6, which was the fastest marathon in the world that year. In the 1972

Fukuoka Marathon The is an IAAF Gold Label international men's marathon race held in Fukuoka, Japan. It was previously known as the Fukuoka International Open Marathon Championship between 1947 and 2021, when it was announced the race would be discontinued on i ...

, he finished in second place behind

Frank Shorter Frank Charles Shorter (born October 31, 1947) is an American former long-distance runner who won the gold medal in the marathon at the 1972 Summer Olympics and the silver medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics. His Olympic success, along with the ac ...

with a 2:12:00.4 performance. He placed second behind

Derek Clayton Derek James Clayton (born 17 November 1942) is a former Australian long-distance runner, born in Cumbria, England and raised in Northern Ireland. Biography Clayton set a marathon world best in the Fukuoka Marathon, Japan on 3 December 1967 ...

at the 1971 Australian Championship, running 2:12:14. Excluding the 1977 Choysa Marathon in New Zealand which was a short course, Farrington ran 14 marathons in under 2 hours, 20 minutes, the world-class standard of that time. He won 11 marathons overall in his career. Farrington died on 15 June 2025, at the age of 82.

Achievements

References

* * 1942 births 2025 deaths Place of birth missing Australian male marathon runners Australian male long-distance runners Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Australia Athletes (track and field) at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games athletes for Australia 20th-century Australian sportsmen 21st-century Australian sportsmen Australian Athletics Championships winners {{Australia-athletics-bio-stub