Australian running icon John Landy dies at 91

On Feb. 24, Australian running legend and former governor of Victoria John Landy died at age 91. In 1954, Landy became the second man after Roger Bannister to run a sub-4-minute mile.

Landy, who was from Melbourne, began running as a way to stay fit for Australian Rules Football (AFL) in the late 1940s, but ended up getting serious about running after he won the Victorian Championships in 1951. Twelve months later, Landy made his first Australian team in the 1,500m at the 1952 Helsinki Olympic Games.

In 1954, the battle between Bannister and Landy began to become the first man to achieve a sub-4-minute mile, which was thought to be beyond human ability. On May 6, 1954, Bannister was the first to dip below the mark, in 3:59.40 in Oxford, U.K.

Less than two months later, at a track meet in Finland, Landy, who had come close to the four-minute mark several times that year, broke Bannister’s world record with a 3:57.90.

Bannister and Landy were the only two men to break the four-minute mile barrier, which arose in a face-to-face showdown billed as the Race of the Century in Vancouver, where Bannister edged out Landy in the final 100m.

Landy made the Australian Olympic team again in 1956, when his hometown of Melbourne hosted the Olympics. In the lead-up to the Games at the Australian Mile Championship, Landy was winning the race when fellow Aussie athlete Ron Clarke tripped and fell in front of him with a lap and a half to go. Landy stopped and went back to check on Clarke, helping his rival to his feet–a kind gesture that almost cost him a spot on the Australian Olympic team. But he ended up winning the race on the final lap after being passed by a majority of the field.

It is widely regarded as one of the most iconic moments in Australian running history.

Landy was elected the 26th governor of Victoria, Australia in 2001, serving until he retired in 2006. Landy died at his home outside of Melbourne on Feb. 24.