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History of the Mile 

History of the Mile 

History of the Mile 

History of the Mile 

History of the Mile 

History of the Mile 

About Roger and his Record

The loudspeakers at a blustery Iffley Road Track crackled and the voice of Norris McWhirter resounded across the concourse.

‘Ladies and gentlemen, here is the result of event number nine, the one mile. First, number 41, R.G. Bannister of the Amateur Athletic Association and formerly of Exeter and Merton Colleges, with a time that is a new meeting and track record, and which, subject to ratification, will be a new English Native, British National, British All-Comers, European, British Empire and World Record. The time is three…’

As the crowd erupted in applause, the rest of McWhirter’s announcement was drowned out. For something unique had just occurred: twenty-five year-old Roger Bannister had become the first person to run a mile in under four minutes – 3.59.4 to be precise.

The four minute mile had obsessed followers of athletics for decades. Talented individuals from across the world – Jack Lovelock and Paavo Nurmi, Arne Arnesson and Gunder Haegg, to name but a few – had poured their hearts and souls into inching closer to the coveted four minute mark. By 1954, the mile world record had remained untouched at 4 minutes and 1.4 seconds for a staggering 9 years. Commentators speculated over whether such a speed was physiologically or psychologically possible. So when Bannister finally settled the debate at Iffley Road on 6th May 1954, Oxford became for a moment the centre of the sporting universe. Bannister featured on the front page of every major British newspaper as well as 1,600 papers in the United States alone. The achievement of this Oxford-educated amateur captured the world’s imagination.