Ian Syster (20 January 1976 – 25 December 2004) was a South African
long-distance runner who specialized in the
marathon.
He was born in
Prince Albert.
He finished fourteenth at the
2001 World Championships and seventh at the
2003 World Championships.
He also competed at the
2004 Olympic Games
The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...
, but did not finish the race.
[ At city marathons, Syster finished fifth in the 2002 ]London Marathon
The London Marathon is an annual marathon held in London, United Kingdom, and is the 2nd largest annual road race in the UK, after the Great North Run in Newcastle. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically he ...
, and won the Beijing Marathon
The Beijing Marathon () is an annual marathon race held around October in Beijing, People's Republic of China, since 1981. The race begins at Tiananmen Square and finishes in Celebration Square in Olympic Green. The full marathon is the onl ...
the following year.
He had a personal best of 13:45.37 minutes in the 5000 metres, achieved in March 2002 in Bellville, and 28:24.61 minutes in the 10,000 metres
The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship level events. The ra ...
, achieved in March 2002 in Port Elizabeth. In the longer races he had 1:02:44 hours in the half marathon
A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcut ...
and 2:07:06 hours in the marathon, both achieved in April 2002 in the London Marathon
The London Marathon is an annual marathon held in London, United Kingdom, and is the 2nd largest annual road race in the UK, after the Great North Run in Newcastle. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically he ...
.[ Ian Syster and his two-month-old son drowned in December 2004 in ]Keimoes
Keimoes is a town in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. It lies on the Orange River and is about halfway between Upington and Kakamas.
History
It attained municipal status in 1949. The name of the town translates in both the Khoekhoe and ...
following a car accident.[
]
Achievements
References
1976 births
2004 deaths
People from the Central Karoo District Municipality
South African male long-distance runners
Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Olympic athletes for South Africa
Deaths by drowning
Road incident deaths in South Africa
South African male marathon runners
Deaths of competitors in athletics
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