Sir Roger Bannister
3:59.4
"The tape is broken!...
...and so is the record athletes have long been dreaming about."
"But at first Bannister knows little about it, he stumbles into the arms of his coach, completely exhausted by his magnificent effort. And that's how Roger Bannister the twenty five year old medical student became the first man in the world to run a mile in under 4 minutes,
3 minutes 59.4 seconds to be exact."
[BBC Radio 1954]
Sir Roger Bannister is best known as the first man ever to run a mile in less than four minutes. However, what many don't know is that he achieved this seemly impossible feat whilst studying full-time at St Mary's Hospital Medical School (now part of Imperial College London). It was a windy spring day at Iffley Road Track, Oxford. Bannister had already mentioned twice that the conditions were against him. He considered conserving his energy for a more favourable occasion. However, three thousand spectators had gathered and the wind dropped just before the scheduled start time. The race was on! Bannister was led out by his good friends Chris Brasher and Chris Chataway with Brasher setting the early pace. Chataway took over the running from Brasher and then, on the back straight of the final lap, a searing turn of pace saw Bannister move past and head for home. As he crossed the line, the clock stopping at 3:59.4, Bannister collapsed into the arms of his coach, initially unaware that he had actual achieved the incredible feat.
Previous to this, Bannister, like any 'bright, highly-motivated student' declined the opportunity to compete at the 1948 London Olympics, prefering to concentrate on his medical studies??! Four years later, following his capture of the British title for the mile in 1951, Bannister headed to Helsinki for the 1952 Olympics where things did not go wholly to plan. Following a last minute change in the schedules, he was forced to compete without rest between events and still managed to finish fourth in the 1500m! However, this was not good enough for the British media who blamed Bannister's 'unorthodox' training methods. It was in response to this criticism that Bannister resolved to break the magical four minute barrier for the mile.
Bannister actually only held the mile record for 46 days, on June 21 1954 his great Australian rival, John Landy, ran 3:58 in Turku, Finland. This served to set up a momentous showdown between the two men at the Commonwealth Games later in the same year. With Landy and Bannister still the only two men to break the 4 minute barrier, and Landy still holding the world record, the race would surely live up to its billing as the 'Miracle Mile'. And, so it was, in Vancouver on August 7 1954, that Landy and Bannister raced each other for the first time. All looked lost for Bannister as Landy led from the start and had built up a lead of 10 yards by the third lap. But, Bannister showed his tactical prowess and, as Landy looked over his left shoulder to gauge where he was, Bannister surged past on the outside of the last bend coming home in 3:58.8 with Landy a mere 0.8s behind. Later that year, in what was to be his final competitive race, Bannister won the 1500m title at the European Championships in 3:43.8, a new championship record.
After retiring from competition, Bannister completed his medical studies and pursued a career in research and clinical neurology. He also chaired our very own St Mary's Association. Bannister's interest in athletics remained and he served as Chairman of the Sports Council of Great Britain from 1971 to 1974. In 1975 Bannister was knighted for his services to sport and in 1976 he was made President of the International Council for Sport and Physical Recreation, a role which he held until 1983.