![]() ![]() He covered the mile distance in 3 minutes, 59.4 seconds. Paced by his running teammates, Christopher Chataway and Chris Brasher, Bannister bested the elements and did what many thought was humanly impossible. After lunch with some friends, he headed to the cinder track at Iffley Road to strap on what fellow runner Lord Sebastian Coe described as “leather shoes in which the spikes alone probably weighed more than the tissue-thin shoes today.” Mary’s Hospital and boarded the train bound for Oxford at Paddington Station. However, what Sir Roger did on that raw and blustery day in Oxford is all the more remarkable given his background and the circumstances.īut Bannister was more than just a runner.Ī medical student in London, Bannister completed his usual shift on May 6, 1954, at St. ![]() Other athletic accomplishments are certainly noteworthy and are rightly celebrated. ![]() Roger Bannister, who accomplished what journalist Tony Kornheiser called the “most important athletic achievement of the 20th century.”īannister became the first human being ever to break the 4-minute mile. Tucked away on D-1 of the sports section, homage was paid to one of the most towering figures of our time, Dr. The night before, in typical self-congratulatory fashion, today’s stars of the silver screen plodded through a repetitive ceremony (“but, hey, it’s the 90th anniversary of Oscar!”) that produced record-low ratings and a 20 percent drop in viewers from last year.Īnd yet, one of our nation’s most celebrated dailies saw fit to cover this annual staged event on its front page rather than give space to one of the most remarkable lives of the past century. “Hollywood makes a statement with its statuettes,” was the headline on A-1 of the Washington Post last Monday morning. The four-page paper programme for the match was sold on the Iffley Road gate for sixpence (equivalent to 65p or US$0.90 today) and although the stand along the home straight was packed, television footage shows that there were few spectators around the rest of the track.Ĭonsequently, even unsigned programmes have a considerable rarity value and this example is thought to be one of the very few signed by Bannister, Brasher and Chataway collectively.Roger Bannister broke the 4-minute mile and inspired the world No exact, or nearly exact, number of those who were at Iffley Road on that day in May 64 years ago has ever been established. Coe was the last recipient of such a tie.Īlthough the number of runners who have subsequently emulated Bannister and run under four minutes for the mile – of significance because of the symmetry of running under one minute a circuit for four consecutive laps of the track – will surpass 1500 men in 2018, and the world record now stands at 3:43.13 to Hicham El Guerrouj, but this remains a unique landmark in our sport.Ĭonsequently, memorabilia related to the race also has special interest and a privileged place in the IAAF Heritage Collection.Įstimates of the number of spectators who witnessed Bannister feat have varied between 10. Roger Bannister breaks the four minute mile barrier - 3:59.4īannister commissioned a very limited edition of the tie to commemorate his feat, which he initially gave to people who had assisted him in his quest to become the first man to run under four minutes. ![]()
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