Bannister was chosen as the first Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year for his accomplishments in 1954.

Sir Roger Gilbert Bannister CBE (born March 23, 1929) is a British former athlete best known as the first man to run the mile in less than 4 minutes. Bannister became a distinguished neurologist and Master of Pembroke College, Oxford retiring in 2001. He was born in Harrow, London. Image File history File linksMetadata Bannister_on_SI.jpg‎ Please do not move this picture, it only passes fair use standards if it appears next to the articles mentioning in the text. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Bannister_on_SI.jpg‎ Please do not move this picture, it only passes fair use standards if it appears next to the articles mentioning in the text. ... The first issue of Sports Illustrated, August 16, 1954, showing Milwaukee Braves star Eddie Mathews at bat in Milwaukee County Stadium. ... Since its inception in 1954, Sports Illustrated magazine has annually presented the Sportsman of the Year award to the athlete or team whose performance that year most embodies the spirit of sportsmanship and achievement. ... The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions; in decreasing order of seniority, these are Knight Grand Cross or Dame Grand Cross (GBE) Knight Commander... March 23 is the 82nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (83rd in leap years). ... 1929 (MCMXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... A mile is a unit of length, usually used to measure distance, in a number of different systems, including Imperial units, United States customary units and Norwegian/Swedish mil. ... The much vaunted and previously thought to be impossible 4 minute mile is an exceptional benchmark in the sport of running. ... Neurology is a branch of medicine dealing with disorders of the nervous system. ... College name Pembroke College Collegium Pembrochianum Named after The Earl of Pembroke Established 1624 Sister College Queens College Master Giles Henderson JCR President Dawn Rennie Undergraduates 408 MCR President Ross Nicolson Graduates 119 College Homepage Boat Club The lodge and the entrance to Pembroke College in Pembroke Square. ... Harrow is the principal town in the London Borough of Harrow. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ...

Education

Bannister was educated at the City of Bath Boys' Grammar School, Beechen Cliff School, University College School, London, Exeter College and Merton College, Oxford, and at St Mary's Hospital Medical School (now part of Imperial College London). Beechen Cliff School is a boys secondary school in Bath, England. ... Beechen Cliff School is a boys secondary school in Bath, England. ... University College School, known generally as UCS, is a British Independent school situated in Hampstead, north west London. ... College name Exeter College Latin name Collegium Exoniense Named after Walter de Stapledon, Bishop of Exeter Established 1314 Sister college Emmanuel College, Cambridge Rector Ms Frances Cairncross JCR President Simon Heawood Undergraduates 299 MCR President Meredith Riedel Graduates 150 Location of Exeter College within central Oxford , Homepage Boatclub Exeter College... College name The House of Scholars of Merton Named after Walter de Merton Established 1264 Sister College Peterhouse Warden Prof. ... The University of Oxford, located in the city of Oxford in England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ... St Marys Hospital QEQM building (above) and old section (below) (Photographs by username Hegster) Although there must be many hospitals named St Marys Hospital, the most famous is probably located in Paddington, West London, England. ... Imperial College London is a British university institution and a constituent college of the University of London. ...

Early running career of Bannister

Bannister was inspired by miler Sydney Wooderson's remarkable comeback in 1945. Eight years after setting the mile record and seeing it surpassed during the war years by the great Swedish runners Arne Andersson and Gunder Hagg, Wooderson regained his old form and challenged Andersson over the distance in several races. Wooderson lost to Andersson, but set a British record of 4:04.2 in the 9 September race in Goteborg. Sydney Charles Wooderson (born August 30, 1914) , was an English athlete whos peak career was in the 1930s and 1940s. ... Arne Andersson (born October 27, 1917 in Trollhättan, Sweden) was a middle distance runner who became famous for his rivalry with his compatriot Gunder Hägg in the 1940s. ... Gunder Hägg (right) sets a new world record for the mile at 4. ... Gothenburg (Swedish: Göteborg [jøːtəbɔrj]) is a city and a municipality on the western coast of Sweden, in the County of Västra Götaland. ...

Like Wooderson, Bannister would ultimately set a mile record, see it broken, then set a new personal best inferior to the new record.

Bannister started his running career at Oxford in the autumn of 1946 when 17. He had never worn running spikes previously or ran on a track. His training was light, even compared to the standards of the day, but he showed promise in running a mile in 1947 in 4:24.6 on only three weekly half-hour training sessions. This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

He was selected as an Olympic "possible" in 1948, but declined as he felt he was not ready to compete at that level. However, he was further inspired to become a great miler by watching the 1948 Olympics. He set his training goals on the 1952 games in Helsinki. The Games of the XIV Olympiad were held in 1948 at Wembley Stadium in London, England. ... The 1952 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad, were held in 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. ... Founded 1550 Country Finland Province Southern Finland Region Uusimaa Sub-region Helsinki Area[1] - Of which land - Rank 185. ...

In 1949, he improved in the 880 yards to 1:52.7 and won several mile races in 4:11. Then, after a period of six weeks with no training, he came in third at White City in 4:14.2. The White City Stadium during the 1908 Summer Olympics Team captains shake hands after a Canada-United States football game at White City Stadium, 14 February 1944 White City Stadium, built in White City, London, England, for the 1908 Summer Olympics, was the first purpose-built Olympic stadium[1]. Completed...

The year 1950 saw more improvements, as he finished a relatively slow 4:13 mile on 1 July with an impressive 57.5 last quarter. Then, he ran the AAA 880 in 1:52.1, losing to Arthur Wint, then ran 1:50.7 for the 800 m at the European Championships on 26 August, placing third. Chastened by this lack of success, Bannister started to train harder and more seriously. Look up the abbreviation AAA in Wiktionary // AAA or Triple-A is a three-letter acronym that may refer to: American Automobile Association Australian Automobile Association Advanced Amphibious Aircraft American Affordable Aircraft AmericanAirlines Arena AAA IATA airport code: Anaa Airport in Anaa, Tuamotu Island, French Polynesia Logan County Airport in... Arthur Stanley Wint (March 25, 1920 – October 19, 1992) was the first Jamaican Olympic gold medallist, winning the 400 m at 1948 Summer Olympics. ...

His increased attention to training paid quick dividends, as he won a mile race in 4:09.9 on 30 December, then in 1951 at the Penn Relays, Bannister broke away from the pack with a 56.7 final lap, finishing in 4:08.3. Then, in his biggest test to date, he won a mile race on 14 July in 4:07.8 at the AAA Championships at White City before 47,000 people. The time set a meet record and he defeated defending champion Bill Nankeville in the process. The Penn Relays (also Penn Relays Carnival) is the oldest and largest track and field carnival in the United States, hosted annually since April 21, 1895 by the University of Pennsylvania at Franklin Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ... The Amateur Athletic Association of England (formerly simply the Amateur Athletic Association) or AAA (pronounced three As) is the oldest athletics organization in the UK, having been established in 1880. ... Bill Nankeville, was a British national champion mile runner and won the AAA mile title four times in five years between 1948 and 1952, his best recorded time was 4:08. ...

Bannister suffered defeat, however, when Yugoslav Andrija Otenhajmer, aware of Bannister's final-lap kick, took a 1500 m race in Belgrade 25 August out at near-record pace, forcing Bannister to close the gap by the bell lap. Otnehajmer won in 3:47.0, Bannister set a personal best finishing second in 3:48.4. Bannister was no longer seen as invincible. Yugoslavia (Jugoslavija in Latin, Југославија in Cyrillic, English: Land of the South Slavs) describes four political entities that existed one at a time on the Balkan Peninsula in Europe, during most of the 20th century. ... Location of Belgrade within Serbia Coordinates: Country Serbia District City of Belgrade Municipalities 17 Government  - Mayor Nenad Bogdanović (DS) (since 2004)  - Ruling parties DS/DSS/G17+ Area  - City 3,222. ...

The 1952 Olympics

Bannister avoided racing after the 1951 season until late in the spring of 1952, saving his energy for Helsinki and the Olympics. He ran an 880 on 28 May in 1:53.00, then a 4:10.6 mile time-trial on 7 June, proclaiming himself satisfied with the results. The press and public in Britain were not so satisfied, however. At the AAA championships, he skipped the mile and won the 880 in 1:51.5. Then, 10 days before the Olympic final, he ran a 3/4 mile time trial in 2:52.9, which gave him confidence that he was ready for the Olympics as he considered the time to be the equivalent of a four-minute mile.

His confidence soon dissipated as it was announced there would be semi-finals for the 1500 m at the Olympics, and he knew that this favoured runners who had much deeper training regimes than he did. When he ran his semi-final, Bannister finished fifth and thereby qualified for the final, but felt "blown and unhappy."

The 1500 m final on 26 July would prove to be one of the more dramatic in Olympic history. The race was not decided until the final meters, Josy Barthel of Luxembourg prevailing in an Olympic-record 3:45.28 (3:45.1 by official hand-timing) with the next seven runners all under the old record. Bannister finished fourth, out of the medals, but set a British record of 3:46.30 (3:46.0) in the process. Joseph Josy Barthel (April 24, 1927 - July 7, 1992) was a Luxembourg athlete, surprise winner of 1500 m at the 1952 Summer Olympics. ...

Bannister sets a new goal

After the devastation of his failure at the 1952 Olympics, Bannister spent two months deciding whether to give up running. He decided on a new goal: To be the first man to run a mile in under four minutes. Accordingly, he intensified his training and did hard intervals.

On 2 May 1953, he made an attempt on the British record at Oxford. Paced by Chris Chataway, Bannister ran 4:03.6, shattering Wooderson's 1945 standard. "This race made me realize that the four-minute mile was not out of reach," said Bannister. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Right Honourable Sir Christopher John Chataway (born January 31, 1931) was a champion athlete, pioneering television news broadcaster, and a Conservative politician. ...

On 27 June, a mile race was inserted onto the program of the Surrey Schools athletic meeting. American Bob McMillen, silver medalist in the 1500 m at the Olympics, set a strong pace with 59.6 and 1:59.7 for two laps. He gave up after 2 1/2 laps, but Chris Brasher, 11th in that same Olympic 1500 m final, took up the pace from a lap behind. At 3/4 mile, Bannister was at 3:01.8, the record - and first sub-four-minute mile - in reach. But the effort fell short with a finish in 4:02.0, a time exceeded by only Andersson and Hagg. British officials would not allow this performance to stand as a British record which, Bannister felt in retrospect, was a good decision. "My feeling as I look back is one of great relief that I did not run a four-minute mile under such artificial circumstances," he said. Robert Earl Bob McMillen (born March 5, 1928) was an American athlete who competed mainly in the 1500 metres. ... Christopher (Chris) William Brasher (August 21, 1928 – February 28, 2003) was a British athlete and sports journalist who helped found the London Marathon. ...

But other runners were making attempts at the four-minute barrier and coming close as well. American Wes Santee ran 4:02.4 on 5 June, the fourth-fastest mile ever. And, at the end of the year, Australian John Landy ran 4:02.0. Wes Santee (born March 25, 1932) was an American middle distance runner and athlete who competed mainly in the 1,500 meters. ... John Landy in 1985. ...

Then early in 1954, Landy made some more attempts at the distance. On 21 January, he ran 4:02.4 in Melbourne, then 4:02.6 on 23 February and at the end of the Australian season on 19 April, he ran 4:02.6 again. Melbournes CBD has grown to straddle the Yarra River in three major precincts. ...

Bannister had been following Landy's attempts, and was certain his Australian rival would succeed with each one. But, knowing that Landy's season-closing attempt on 19 April would be his last until he travelled to Finland for another attempt, Bannister knew he had to make his attempt soon.

The 4-minute mile

Blue plaque recording the first ever sub-4-minute mile run by Roger Bannister on 6 May 1954 at Oxford University's Iffley Road Track.

This historic event took place on May 6, 1954 during a meet between British AAA and Oxford University at Iffley Road Track in Oxford. It was watched by about 3,000 spectators. With winds up to 25 miles per hour (40 km/h) prior to the event, Bannister had said twice that he favoured not running, to conserve his energy and efforts to break the 4-minute barrier; he would try again at another meet. However, the winds dropped just before the race was scheduled to begin, and Bannister did run. His time was 3 min 59.4 s. Two other runners, Brasher and Chataway, provided pacing whilst completing the race. Both went on to establish their own track careers. The race was broadcast live by BBC Radio and commented on by Harold "Chariots of Fire" Abrahams. The stadium announcer for the race was Norris McWhirter, who went on to publish and edit the Guinness Book of Records. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2592x1944, 809 KB) Blue plaque at Iffley Road Track, Oxford, England. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2592x1944, 809 KB) Blue plaque at Iffley Road Track, Oxford, England. ... A blue plaque showing information about The Spanish Barn at Torre Abbey in Torquay. ... The University of Oxford, located in the city of Oxford in England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ... Blue plaque recording the first ever sub-four minute mile run by Roger Bannister in a race on 6 May 1954 at Oxford Universitys Iffley Road Track. ... May 6 is the 126th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (127th in leap years). ... 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... UK Athletics is the governing body for the sport of athletics in the United Kingdom. ... The University of Oxford, located in the city of Oxford in England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ... Blue plaque recording the first ever sub-four minute mile run by Roger Bannister in a race on 6 May 1954 at Oxford Universitys Iffley Road Track. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. ... Harold Maurice Abrahams (December 15, 1899 – January 14, 1978) was a Jewish British athlete. ... Norris Dewar McWhirter, CBE (August 12, 1925 - April 19, 2004) was a writer, right wing political activist and television presenter. ... Suresh Joachim, minutes away from breaking the ironing world record at 55 hours and 5 minutes, at Shoppers World, Brampton. ...

The claim that a 4-minute mile was once thought to be impossible by informed observers was and is a widely propagated myth cooked up by sportswriters and debunked by Bannister himself in his memoir, The Four Minute Mile, 1955. The reason the myth took hold was that 4 minutes was a nice round number which was slightly better (1.4 seconds) than the world record for nine years—longer than it probably otherwise would have been because of the effect of World War II in interrupting athletic progress in the combatant countries. Note that the Swedish runners Gunder Hagg and Arne Andersson, in a series of head-to-head races in the period 1942–45, had already lowered the world mile record by 5 seconds to the pre-Bannister record. See World record progression for the mile run. What is still impressive to knowledgeable track fans is that Bannister ran a 4-minute mile on very low-mileage training by modern standards. Accurate times for the mile run (1. ...

Just 46 days later on June 21 in Turku, Finland, Bannister's record was broken by his rival John Landy of Australia, with a time of 3 min 57.9 s, which the IAAF ratified as 3 min 58.0 s due to the rounding rules then in effect. June 21 is the 172nd day of the year (173rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 193 days remaining. ... Turku (IPA:  , Swedish:  ), founded in the 13th century, is the oldest and fifth largest city in Finland, with a population of 174,868 (as of 2005). ... John Landy in 1985. ... The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) is the international governing body for the sport of athletics (known in the US as track and field). It was founded in 1912 at its first Congress in Stockholm, Sweden by representatives from 17 national athletics federations as the International Amateur Athletics Federation. ...

Bannister vs Landy "The Miracle Mile"

On August 7, at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Vancouver, B.C., Bannister competed against Landy for the first time in a race billed as "The Miracle Mile". They were the only two men in the world to have broken the 4-minute barrier, with Landy still holding the world record. Landy led for most of the race, building a lead of 10 yards in the third lap (of four), but was overtaken on the last bend, and Bannister won in 3 min 58.8 s, with Landy 0.8 s behind in 3 min 59.6 s. Bannister and Landy have both pointed out that the crucial moment of the race was that at the moment when Bannister decided to try to pass Landy, Landy looked over his left shoulder to gauge Bannister's position and Bannister burst past him on the right, never relinquishing the lead. A larger-than-life bronze sculpture of the two men at this moment was created by Vancouver sculptor Jack Harman in 1967 and stood for many years at the entrance to Empire Stadium; after the stadium was demolished the sculpture was moved a short distance away to the Hastings and Renfrew entrance of the Pacific National Exhibition (PNE) fairgrounds. Regarding this sculpture, Landy quipped that "While Lot's wife was turned into a pillar of salt for looking back, I am probably the only one ever turned into bronze for looking back." August 7 is the 219th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (220th in leap years), with 146 days remaining. ... Countries which participated The 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. ... Vancouver (pronounced: ) is a city in south-western British Columbia, Canada. ...

Bannister went on that season to win the "metric mile", the 1,500 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 to concentrate on his work as a junior doctor and to pursue a career in neurology. Location within Switzerland The city of Berne (German   , French Berne , Italian Berna , Romansh Berna , Bernese German Bärn ), is the Bundesstadt (administrative capital) of Switzerland and the fourth most populous Swiss city (after Zürich, Geneva and Basel). ... Neurology is a branch of medicine dealing with disorders of the nervous system. ...

He later became the first Chairman of the Sports Council (now called Sport England) and was knighted for these services in 1975. Under his aegis, central and local government funding of sports centres and other sports facilities was rapidly increased, and he also initiated the first testing for use of anabolic steroids in sport. Sport England logo Sport England (formerly the English Sports Council) is the body responsible for distributing funds and providing strategic guidance for sporting activity in England. ... The British honours system is a means of rewarding individuals personal bravery, achievement or service to the United Kingdom. ... 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... Anabolic steroids are a class of natural and synthetic steroid hormones that promote cell growth and division, resulting in growth of muscle tissue and sometimes bone size and strength. ...

Training anecdote

As a medical student at St Mary's Hospital, Paddington, Roger Bannister chose to use his lunch hour for a 9 minute jog to Paddington track, where he ran 10 X 400 m in about 60 s with two minutes rest, then he ran back to work. The whole procedure took 46 minutes, leaving him 14 minutes to eat his lunch. Although there must be many hospitals named St Marys Hospital, the most famous is probably located in Paddington, West London. ... A street in Paddington including a pub, a restaurant targeted at tourists and Paddington Station in the background. ...

John Landy ran the "Miracle Mile" with 4 stitches in his foot from stepping on a burst flash bulb before the race. It is in keeping with the spirit of the man that he never used this as an excuse for his defeat in this memorable race.

Legacy

On the 50th anniversary of running the 4-minute mile, Bannister was interviewed by the BBC's sports correspondent Rob Bonnet. At the conclusion of the interview, Bannister was asked whether he looked back on the 4-minute mile as the most important achievement of his life. Bannister replied to the effect that 'no, he rather saw his subsequent forty years of practicing as neurologist and some of the new procedures he introduced as being more significant'. His major contribution in academic medicine was in the field of autonomic failure, an area of neurology focusing on illnesses characterized by certain automatic responses of the nervous system (for example, elevated heart rate when standing up) not occurring. The British Broadcasting Corporation, usually known as the BBC, is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world in terms of audience numbers, employing 26,000 staff in the United Kingdom alone and with a budget of more than GB£4 billion (US$7. ... Neurology is a branch of medicine dealing with disorders of the nervous system. ...

For his efforts Sir Roger Bannister was also made the inaugural recipient of the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year award in 1955 (he was given the award as the 1954 Sportsman of the Year but it was awarded in January, 1955) and is one of the few non-Americans recognized by the American published magazine as such. The first issue of Sports Illustrated, August 16, 1954, showing Milwaukee Braves star Eddie Mathews at bat in Milwaukee County Stadium. ... Since its inception in 1954, Sports Illustrated magazine has annually presented the Sportsman of the Year award to the athlete or team whose performance that year most embodies the spirit of sportsmanship and achievement. ...

Sir Roger Bannister is the subject of the ESPN movie "Four Minutes" (2005). This movie is a dramatization; its major departures from the factual record being the creation of a fictional character as Bannister's coach, when this was actually Franz Stampfl, an Austrian, and secondly his meeting his spouse, Moyra Jacobsson, in the early 1950s, when in fact they met in London only a few months before the Miracle Mile itself took place.

The 50th anniversary of Sir Roger's achievement was marked by a commemorative British 50 pence coin. The reverse of the coin shows the legs of a runner and a stop watch.

Bannister, arguably the most famous record-setter in the mile, is also the man who held the record for the least amount of time, at least since the IAAF started to ratify records. He is also among the 14 men who have set mile records under 4:00 who never won an Olympic medal. The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) is the international governing body for the sport of athletics (known in the US as track and field). It was founded in 1912 at its first Congress in Stockholm, Sweden by representatives from 17 national athletics federations as the International Amateur Athletics Federation. ...

Quotes

• "I knew I was very close. I did collapse at the end. If you don't keep on running, keep your blood circulating…the muscles stop pumping the blood back, and you get dizzy. I did lose my sight for a bit because I was crowded in. Everybody rushed on to the track."
• "I found longer races boring. I found the mile just perfect."
• "The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win."
• Roger Bannister on breaking the 4-minute mile (Cameron, 1993: 185): "No longer conscious of my movement, I discovered a new unity with nature. I had found a new source of power and beauty, a source I never dreamt existed."

References

• The First Four Minutes: ESPN Classic Television Program.
• Bannister, Roger (1955), The Four-Minute Mile. Revised and enlarged 50th anniversary (of the race) edition, 2004, The Lyons Press.
• Bascomb, Neal (2004), The Perfect Mile: The Perfect Mile: Three Athletes, One Goal, and Less Than Four Minutes to Achieve It. ISBN 0-618-39112-6.
• Cameron, Julia (1993), The Artist's Way. Oxford, London: Pan Books. ISBN 0-330-34358-0.
• Nelson, Cordner and Quercetani, Roberto (1985), The Milers, Tafnews Press, 1985, ISBN 0-911521-15-1, pp. 181-215
• Quercetani, R. L. (1964), A World History of Track and Field Athletics, 1864–1964, Oxford University Press. (A history of the mile/1500 m. event.)