ROGER GILBERT BANNISTER

First athlete to run a mile in under 4 minutes

-3 min 59.4 sec-
in a dual meet at Oxford
May 6, 1954

Breaking the world record (4 min 1.3 sec), held for nine years by Gunder Hägg of Sweden, was almost incidental to his succesful defiance of the psychological barrier, the general belief in the imposibilty of running a mile in less than 4 minutes.

Bannister is said to have achieved his speed through scientific training methods and through research into the mechanics of running.

While a student at Oxford and a St. Mary´s Hospital Medical School, London, he won British (1951, 1953-54) and Empire (1954) championships in the mile run and the European title (1954) in the 1,500-metre event.

A physician, he wrote First Four Minutes (1955) and several papers on the physiology of excercise and on his medical specialty, neurology.