John Stephen Akhwari (born 1938[1] in Mbulu, Tanganyika) is a Tanzanian former marathon runner from the Iraqw tribe.

He fell badly wounding his knee and dislocating that joint plus his shoulder hit hard against the pavement.

Akhwari finished in 3:25:27,[2] when there were only a few thousand people left in the stadium, and the sun had set.

A television crew was sent out from the medal ceremony when word was received that there was one more runner about to finish.

He was a torchbearer in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on April 13, 2008, for the Olympic torch relay through his country.