Charles Wayne Foster (July 2, 1953 – March 31, 2019) was an American

hurdler Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today, ...

. He

finished Finished may refer to: * ''Finished'' (novel), a 1917 novel by H. Rider Haggard * ''Finished'' (film), a 1923 British silent romance film * "Finished" (short story), a science fiction short story by L. Sprague de Camp See also *Finishing (disa ...

in fourth place, just off the podium at the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phi ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

while setting his lifetime personal best of 13.41. In 1974 he was the number one ranked hurdler in the world, number 2 in 1975 and in the top ten from 1973 until 1979.

Career

Born in

Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte and Raleigh, the 69th-most populous city in the Un ...

, Foster ran for

North Carolina Central University North Carolina Central University (NCCU or NC Central) is a public historically black university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by James E. Shepard in affiliation with the Chautauqua movement in 1909, it was supported by private funds from b ...

, winning the 1974

NCAA Championships The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...

. A few weeks later that season, he won the

National Championships A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, indi ...

. On tour, he also won the French national championship. The NCAA victory qualified him for the

World University Games The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and "Olympiad". The Universiade is referred t ...

the following year, where he won the Gold Medal. He was able to win the National Championship again in 1977 in a tie with UCLA's James Owens, making him the U.S. representative at the

1977 IAAF World Cup The 1st IAAF World Cup in Athletics was an international track and field sporting event sponsored by the International Association of Athletics Federations, held from 2 to 4 September 1977, at the Rheinstadion in Düsseldorf, West Germany. Overal ...

, where he won a bronze medal. He picked up an additional bronze medal in international competition at the

1979 Pan American Games The 1979 Pan American Games (Spanish: ''Juegos Panamericanos de 1979''), officially the VIII Pan American Games were a multi-sport event governed by the Panam Sports Organization, and were held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, from July 1 to July 15 ...

. He also picked up a pair of National Indoor championships in 1975 and 1978. Foster's career began at

Gaffney High School Gaffney High School (GHS) is a public high school in Gaffney, South Carolina in the United States. It is part of the Cherokee County School District. History The high school building was opened at its campus in 2000 at a cost of $22 million. ...

Gaffney, South Carolina Gaffney is a city in and the seat of Cherokee County, South Carolina, United States, in the Upstate region of South Carolina. Gaffney is known as the "Peach Capital of South Carolina". The population was 12,539 at the 2010 census, with an estim ...

, where he was state champion and the 1971 Junior National Champion in the 120 yard high hurdles. After his athletic career, he went into coaching at the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

Clemson University Clemson University () is a public land-grant research university in Clemson, South Carolina. Founded in 1889, Clemson is the second-largest university in the student population in South Carolina. For the fall 2019 semester, the university enro ...

and

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

. He was involved with the organizing committee for the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

in Atlanta and with the 1999

Special Olympics Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities and physical disabilities, providing year-round training and activities to 5 million participants and Unified Sports partners in 1 ...

References

External links

*
Foster instructing
at the

USTFCCCA The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) is a New Orleans, Louisiana-based professional association representing men's and women's cross country and track & field coaches in the United States. The organization has abo ...

Convention 1953 births 2019 deaths American male hurdlers Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics Olympic track and field athletes for the United States Sportspeople from Greensboro, North Carolina Track and field athletes from North Carolina Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Medalists at the 1975 Summer Universiade FISU World University Games gold medalists for the United States Athletes (track and field) at the 1979 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1979 Pan American Games {{US-hurdles-athletics-bio-stub Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States in athletics (track and field)