One of the Running Legend that everyone must know. The World First Sub 4 Mile Runner - Sir Roger Bannister. He is the human who create and always believe that Sub 4 Mile is possible. An inspiration to the athletic world that nothing is impossible. May you rest in peace Sir.
#Sub4Miler #SirRogerBannister #FirstSub4
This historic event took place on 6 May 1954 during a meet between British AAA and Oxford University at Iffley Road Track in Oxford, watched by about 3,000 spectators.
With winds up to 25 miles per hour (40 km/h) before 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.
The pace-setters from his major 1953 attempts, future Commonwealth Games gold medallist Chris Chataway from the 2 May attempt and future Olympic Games gold medallist Chris Brasher from the 27 June attempt, combined to provide pacing on this historic day.
The race was broadcast live by BBC Radio and commented on by 1924 Olympic 100 metres champion Harold Abrahams, of Chariots of Fire fame.
Bannister had begun his day at a hospital in London, where he sharpened his racing spikes and rubbed graphite on them so they would not pick up too much cinder ash.
He took a mid-morning train from Paddington Station to Oxford, nervous about the rainy, windy conditions that afternoon.
Being a dual-meet format, there were seven men entered in the Mile: Alan Gordon, George Dole and Nigel Miller from Oxford University and four British AAA runners - Bannister, his two pacemakers Brasher and Chataway and Tom Hulatt.
Nigel Miller arrived as a spectator and he only realised that he was due to run when he read the programme. Efforts to borrow a running kit failed and he could not take part, thus reducing the field to six.
The race went off as scheduled at 6:00 pm, and Brasher and Bannister went immediately to the lead.
Brasher, wearing No. 44, led both the first lap in 58 seconds and the half-mile in 1:58, with Bannister (No. 41) tucked in behind, and Chataway (No. 42) a stride behind Bannister.
Chataway moved to the front after the second lap and maintained the pace with a 3:01 split at the bell.
Chataway continued to lead around the front turn until Bannister began his finishing kick with about 275 yards to go (just over a half-lap), running the last lap in just under 59 seconds.
The stadium announcer for the race was Norris McWhirter, who went on to co-publish and co-edit the Guinness Book of Records.
He excited the crowd by delaying the announcement of the time Bannister ran as long as possible:
"Ladies and gentlemen, here is the result of event nine, the one mile: first, number forty one, R. G. Bannister, Amateur Athletic Association and formerly of Exeter and Merton Colleges, Oxford, with a time which is a new meeting and track record, and which—subject to ratification—will be a new English Native, British National, All-Comers, European, British Empire and World Record. The time was three..."
The roar of the crowd drowned out the rest of the announcement. Bannister's time was 3 minutes, 59.4 seconds.
RIP Roger Bannister.
