World record holder celebrates Bannister’s sub-four mile, 70 years ago today

On May 6, 1954, British medical student Roger Bannister made history by becoming the first man in documented history to run a mile (1,609m) in under four minutes. Seventy years later, Bannister’s mark of 3:59.4 still stands as a benchmark for many.

On Monday in Oxford, U.K., hundreds of runners gathered to run a mile in his honour, beginning outside Oxford’s Christchurch College and proceeding along the High Street to the Iffley Track, where Bannister achieved his feat in 1954. Present for the festivities was the current mile world record holder and one of the greatest distance runners in history, Morocco’s Hicham El Guerrouj.

#OnThisDay in 1954, Sir Roger Bannister set a new world mile record of 3 minutes 59.4 seconds at the Iffley Road Sports Track.

It was the first mile ever run under 4 minutes.

🎬 | @BBCArchive pic.twitter.com/PWxfv3HjGA

— University of Oxford (@UniofOxford) May 6, 2024

El Guerrouj, now 49, did not break his world record time of 3:43:13 (from 1999) in Oxford, but he showed that he still has some speed in the legs, recording a six-minute and 39-second mile. Joining El Guerrouj was British mile record holder Steve Cram and 13 other athletes who had surpassed Bannister’s record in subsequent years.

Bannister’s achievement will forever be remembered as one of the most significant arbitrary barriers in athletics, inspiring a generation of British middle-distance athletes like Cram, Sebastian Coe and Steve Ovett. Bannister’s record was set in a time when there were no branded track spikes or high-cushioned super shoes. Bannister wore leather shoes with long spikes on the bottom, weighing 4.5 oz. (or of a similar weight as the Nike Dragonfly spike).

🏆 Supermilers at the community mile at the Bannister Miles meeting – Filbert Bayi, Hicham El Guerrouj & Steve Cram.

📸 Will Palmer pic.twitter.com/jR9qOhhLke

— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) May 6, 2024

As of January 2024, more than 2,000 distance runners, including 76 Canadians, have broken the four-minute mile barrier.

In addition to the community mile races in Oxford on Monday, which attracted more than 1,000 runners, the Iffley Track hosted elite mile races for athletes who looked to challenge the four-minute mark. Four athletes went below the mark, with Ossame Meslek of Italy recording the fastest time of 3:56.15.

Ossama Meslek and Hicham El Guerrouj share a word after his 3:56.15 clocking at the Bannister Miles, becoming the ninth person to run inside four minutes at Iffley Road.
Four men did so today 🔥 pic.twitter.com/qAXJoXrbBN

— James Rhodes (@James_Athletics) May 6, 2024

This is the second time Oxford’s Iffley Road has hosted an anniversary event for Bannister’s mile. In 2004, Bannister was on hand to witness Australia’s Craig Mottram and Ireland’s Sonia O’Sullivan win elite mile races in 3:56.64 and 4:27.79, respectively.

Bannister died of pneumonia in 2018 at the age of 88.