Competing for Sydney’s Botany Harriers, John Russell won back-to-back Australian national titles in the marathon in 1956 and 1958 (the competition was not held in 1957). His victory in the former earned him the right to represent his country at its home Olympics in Melbourne in 1956. There, he placed 18th in a field of 48 competitors. His win in the latter competition sent him to the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff, Wales, where he finished 11th. He also won an additional New South Wales state marathon title in 1957 and retired from active competition by the 1960s.
Australia