60 years since Roger Bannister’s first sub-four

Tuesday, May 6, marked 60 years since Sir Roger Bannister did what many thought impossible in running the first ever sub-4:00 mile at the Iffley Road Track in Oxford, England.

Bannister broke a record that had been known as “the impossible barrier,” because some thought it impossible for a human to run under 4:00 in the mile. The record at the time was 4:01.4, held by Swede Gunder Hägg since 1945.

It was May 6, 1954 when Bannister raced around the inconspicuous Oxford track — there was a single BBC camera there to film the race — behind two teammates. Chris Chataway, an Oxford peer of Bannister’s who recently passed away after a career as a news broadcaster, and Chris Brasher, who co-founded the London Marathon and died in 2003. He was under sub-four pace at the half-mile, running 1:58, but slowed down on this third lap, splitting 3:01 with 400m remaining. He finished in 3:59.4

The medical student was training on what today would have been considered a modest training plan for even many high school athletes, running less than 60K per week. Some of the best in the world today run can run triple that. He also broke the record on a cinder track, which are notable for being much slower than modern surfaces.

Bannister, still alive today, was a 25-year-old medical student at the time when he ran the record. It would stand for only six weeks before Australia’s John Landy would run 3:58.0, a time that would then stand another three years. The two would meet shortly after at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Vancouver, which Bannister won. He retired from professional athletics shortly after and went on to become a neurological surgeon.

Last week it became known the 85-year-old also suffers from Parkinson’s disease, but he’s still involved in the track and field community. He’ll be attending the Bupa Westminster Mile later in May to celebrate the 60th anniversary of his accomplishment.