![]() ![]() He trained for half an hour each day this does not seem like much time, but Bannister spent it doing arduous speed workouts. He decided to devote himself to breaking the four-minute barrier for the mile. Although he was initially disgusted with his performance, he later was proud that he had made it to the Olympics.Īfter the Olympics, Bannister spent some time deciding whether or not he wanted to continue running. In the semifinal, he came in fifth, but the next day, in the final, his legs were tired and heavy. He competed in the 1500 meters in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. 1952 Olympicsīannister won the British mile championships in 19. ![]() At the time, no one had ever run a mile in less than four minutes, and most observers of track and field believed it could not be done. He knew from this performance that he could probably run a mile in 4 minutes, 5 seconds. He won with a time of 4:08.3, and his last lap was 56.7. In 1951, he ran in the Penn Relays, starting out slowly but then taking the lead after two and a half laps. However, his last lap was an amazing 57.5, indicating that he was capable of greater speed, and that he had the ability to push for a burst of speed at the end of a race. ![]() In 1950, he ran a mile in 4:13, not an impressive time compared to some of his earlier efforts. After taking six weeks off, he came in third in another race with a time of 4:14.2. In 1949, Bannister won races in the United States with times of 4:11.1 and 4:11.9. He decided to set his sights on competing at the Helsinki Olympics in 1952. The Olympics were held in London that year, and Bannister was fascinated and inspired by the athletes. In the same year, he came in fifth in the Amateur Athletic Association Race with a time of 4:17.2. In June of 1948, Bannister ran his first big race, the Kinniard Cup, and came in fourth. According to Frank Deford in Sports Illustrated, Bannister later said, "I knew from this day that I could develop this newfound ability." He still did not think of athletics as a career, but simply as something one did in order to be well-rounded. Instead of stopping, as a pacer was supposed to, he kept on running, not only completing the course but winning by 20 yards with a time of 4:30.8. On March 22, 1947, however, he was running as a pacer for members of Oxford's first team in a mile race against Cambridge. Every day, during his lunch hour, he paid threepence to enter Paddington Park, near the hospital where he worked, so that he could practice running.Īt the time, Bannister was not obviously talented as a runner he had an ungainly walk, and barely made Oxford University's third track team. In 1946, Bannister began medical school in Oxford, where he had won a scholarship. When he was 16, he decided to become a runner, but when he began studying medicine at Oxford University in 1946, he had never run on a track or worn running shoes with spikes. He won his school's cross-country meet for three years in a row when he was 12, 13, and 14. According to Cordner Nelson and Roberto Quercetani in The Milers, he once said, "I just ran anywhere and everywhere -never because it was an end in itself, but because it was easier for me to run than to walk" "I Just Ran Anywhere and Everywhere"īannister was born in 1929 in Harrow, England. In addition, he won the European 1,500 meter championship in 1954. ![]() A noted British runner, he won the British mile championships in 1951, 1953, and 1954, and also won the Empire championship in 1954. In 1954, Roger Bannister became the first person to run a mile in under four minutes. ![]()
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