English Runner Roger Bannister on This Day in History

 

This Day in History: English Runner Roger Bannister died on this day in 2018. Bannister was the first person to run a mile in under 4 minutes in 1954. Since the 1880's runners have been trying to complete a run of the mile in under 4 minutes. “For years milers had been striving against the clock, but the elusive four minutes had always beaten them...It had become as much a psychological barrier as a physical one. And like an unconquerable mountain, the closer it was approached, the more daunting it seemed.” John Bryant

Once that barrier was broken, others started to complete the mile in under 4 minutes. Just 46 days after Bannister ran the mile in under 4 minutes, an Australian runner named John Landy beat Bannister's record. Then, just a year later, three other runners broke the four-minute barrier in a single race. Over the last half century, more than a thousand runners have conquered a feat that had once been considered impossible.