Roger Bannister

Sir Roger Gilbert Bannister KBE (born March 23, 1929) is a former British athlete best known as the first man to run the mile in less than four minutes. Bannister became a distinguished neurologist. He was born in Harrow, London, England.

The 4-minute-mile

This historic event took place on May 6, 1954 at Iffley Road track in Oxford and was watched by about 3,000 spectators during a meet between British AAA and Oxford University. With winds up to 25 miles per hour (40 km/h), the event was almost cancelled. However, the persistent Bannister prevailed and was rewarded with the honour of running the "Miracle Mile". His time was 3 min 59.4 s. The race was paced by Chris Brasher and Chris Chataway, both of whom went on to establish their own stellar track performances. The timekeeper was Norris McWhirter, who went on to edit the Guinness Book of Records. His record-setting mile run was called the "Miracle Mile" as some doubted a four-minute-mile was possible. Bannister wore the number 41 on his jersey that day.

Related Topics:
May 6 - 1954 - British AAA - Oxford University - Chris Brasher - Chris Chataway - Norris McWhirter - Guinness Book of Records

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Just 46 days later on June 21 in Turku, Finland, his record was broken by his rival John Landy of Australia, with a time of 3 min 58 s.

Related Topics:
June 21 - Turku - John Landy

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On August 7, at the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Vancouver, B.C., Bannister competed against Landy for the first time, both had broken the 4 minute barrier, with John Landy holding the world record at the time. Bannister won in 3 min 58.8 s, with Landy 0.8 s behind in 3 min 59.6 s.

Related Topics:
August 7 - British Empire and Commonwealth Games - Vancouver

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Bannister went on that season to win the "metric mile", the 1500 m, at the European Championships in Berne on 29 August with a championship record in a time of 3 min 43.8 s. He then retired from athletics in 1954 to concentrate on his work as a junior doctor and to pursue a career in neurology.

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Bannister was the first recipient of Sports Illustrated magazine's "Sportsman of the Year" award. He later became the first Chairman of the British Sports Council (a government agency for encouraging wider sports participation and building of sports facilities by local authorities) and was knighted for these services in 1975. He became Master of Pembroke College, Oxford, retiring in 2001.

Related Topics:
Sports Illustrated - Sportsman of the Year - Knighted - 1975 - Pembroke College, Oxford

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