Briton first master to break four-minute-mile

40-year-old Anthony Whiteman ran 3:58.79 at the Switfwick Invitational Mile to set the masters world record.

The miler has come a long way since the days of Roger Bannister.

Once considered one of those impenetrable boundaries in sport, the sub-four-minute mile became the standard in middle-distance excellence after Bannister broke the barrier at the Oxford University track on that windy day way back in May of 1954.

Although today running a sub-four mile is now merely seen as a requirement for any half-decent varsity runner to maintain their place on the squad, that elusive yet abstract barrier still stood, interestingly enough, for the masters runner.

That all changed on Saturday night in Tennessee.

British masters runner Anthony Whiteman (aged 40) ran a fast yet controlled first 800m at the Switfwick Invitational Mile on a hot and humid Southern evening at the Vanderbilt track. By that point everyone knew they were present for something special.

Whiteman then made a decisive move, roaring into contention from the middle of the chase pack to take the lead outright with a devastating close on Tony Jordanek, an accomplished sub-four-miler and the clear leader from the gun to the 1000m mark.

Splitting at 2:57 leading into the bell lap, Whiteman just needed to hold on to a respectable final quarter mile in order to achieve what will surely immortalize him in certain circles. With a gritty final sprint to the line, he became the first person over 40 to run an outdoor mile in under four minutes.

Sure, former mile world record holder Eamonn Coghlan ran a sub-four-mile indoors in 1994 (and he is the only person to have done so and only did it once), but the outdoor mark had remained elusive, even though masters running has exploded over the last ten years.

Whiteman himself is actually no stranger to the sub-four-minute mile. He ran a 3:51.90 in 1998 at the British Grand Prix race. Whiteman also ran for Britain in two Olympics (1996 and 2000) and won the 1500m at the 1997 World University Games. But he may become best known for Saturday night’s 3:58.79.

Before retiring from racing, Bannister ended up running a 3:58 at the 1954 Commonwealth Games in Vancouver. It was a dramatic race against his rival John Landy, perhaps more exciting than his first mile under the four minute mark. But it was the act of breaking that seemingly impossible wall that made Bannister the stuff of legend.

On Saturday night in Tennessee Anthony Whiteman carved out his own small legend in the realm of the masters runner.

To watch video of the race click here.

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