TitleSir
Name:Roger
Surname:Bannister
Nationality:GBR  Great Britain
Date of Birth:23/03/1969
Function:Athlete
 
Biography:
Roger Bannister was born in Harrow, Middlesex, in 1929. He first enjoyed success as an athlete in his early teens, winning several races, but it was the combining of his later educational knowledge with his athletic ability that would enable him to become a legend. In 1946, Bannister went to Oxford University to study medicine. He devoted all his spare time to the track and became an accomplished middle distance runner. The fascination at the time for all middle distance men was the four-minute mile. Basically, it was widely assumed that to run the distance in under four minutes was impossible for a human being. Bannister believed it was possible, and used his knowledge as a physician to give him as much help as possible. He painstakingly researched mechanical aspects of running, and developed scientific training methods to aid him. By the time 1954 had come around, Bannister was vying with the Australian John Landy to try and be the first to break the four-minute barrier. Both had run quite close to the time, but the magic figure still proved to be elusive. It was at Iffley Road in that same year that Roger Bannister finally achieved his dream. It was not a standard race as such. He was to be aided and abetted by two pacemakers, Chris Brasher and Chris Chataway. He had prepared for the race the previous week at Paddington Green in high winds. The weather at Iffley Road was pretty bad as well, a 15mph crosswind with gusts of up to 25mph, and Bannister very nearly called the attempt off. When the race started Chris Brasher took the lead as the first pacemaker. Bannister slotted in behind, with Chataway in third place. When Brasher began to tire, Bannister gave the signal for Chataway to take over, and at the bell it was he who led in a time of just over three minutes. Just over two hundred yards from the finish, Roger Bannister took the lead and kicked away. He sprinted to the line, finishing in a time of three minutes fifty-nine point four seconds. His name had not only been written into the record books, but sporting folklore as well. The record was broken within two months by John Landy, highlighting how the four-minute mile was as much a psychological as physical barrier. Bannister went on to race Landy to decide whom the world’s best miler was - Bannister won (both men ran sub four minutes). In his later years Bannister concentrated on medicine, and became a consultant neurologist. He continued to run to keep fit right up until 1975, when he broke his ankle in a motoring accident. He will always be remembered as the man who ran the ‘miracle mile’.
 
Related Database Events:
Athletics6/5/1954

         
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