Receiving Helpdesk

first 4 minute mile story

by Xzavier Champlin Published 4 years ago Updated 3 years ago

Look back at the day 60 years ago when British medical student Roger Bannister became the first man to run a mile in less than 4 minutes. Look back at the day 60 years ago when British medical student Roger Bannister became the first man to run a mile in less than 4 minutes.Sep 30, 2019

Who ran the first 4 minute mile?

The sad news of the passing of Roger Bannister, the first human being to run a four-minute mile, is an opportunity to think about his legacy — not just as one of the great athletes of the past century, but as an innovator, a change agent, and an icon of...

Who broke the 4 minute mile first?

Sir Roger Bannister was the first man to run a mile in under four minutes. Up until he did it in 1954, most people thought the four-minute mark was impossible to break. They thought the human body couldn’t physically go that fast – that it would collapse under the pressure. No-one could run a mile in less than four minutes. It was impossible.

Is 4 minute mile a true story?

Most people know the basic story of Roger Bannister, who, on May 6, 1954, busted through the four-minute barrier with a time of three minutes, fifty-nine and four-tenths of a second.

What does it mean to run the 4 minute mile?

In the runner world, usually 4 minutes is referred to the 4:00 minute mile (or 1600m) barrier. It was thought to been unbreakable but Roger Bannister was the first to break it in 1954. Although it is common for competitive college runners to run under 4:00’s for the mile, it’s considered a immense achievement for high school runner’s to break it.

Who was the first person to run 4 minute mile?

Roger BannisterRoger Bannister runs first four-minute mile.

Is 4 minute mile a true story?

It's based on a true story but certain events were dramatized for the sake of entertainment which is nothing new but it felt kind of cheap at the end of the movie knowing that some things may or may not have ever happened, but all the same it's a fun movie.

When did the first person run a 4 minute mile?

May 6, 1954On May 6, 1954, Englishman Roger Bannister became the first to run a mile in under four minutes. Bannister, who went on to become a doctor, accomplished the feat during a race in Oxford. His time was three minutes, 59.4 seconds. Bannister was 25 at the time of his record-breaking run.

What was the record before the 4 minute mile?

History of the Record for the Mile Run? Under 4 MinutesTimeAthleteYear4:01.4Gunder Hgg19453:59.4Roger Bannister19543:58.0John Landy19543:57.2Derek Ibbotson195740 more rows

Who was the second person to break the four-minute mile?

John LandyJohn Landy, second man to break 4-minute mile, dies at 91.

Who broke the 1 mile record?

The world record in the mile run is the fastest time set by a runner in the middle-distance track and field event. World Athletics is the official body which oversees the records. Hicham El Guerrouj is the current men's record holder with his time of 3:43.13, while Sifan Hassan has the women's record of 4:12.33.

Will a woman ever run a 4-minute mile?

The women's world record is currently at 4:12.33, set by Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands at the Diamond League meeting in Monaco on 12 July 2019.

How fast can Usain Bolt run a mile?

Three minutes, forty-three seconds, and thirteen hundredths of a second is the fastest that a human has ever run a mile, as far as we know.

How many 4 minute milers are there?

Only 1,497 humans have ever broken the 4-minute mile — and I'm one of them. There are few events in the sport of track and field that people understand like the mile. Even people who know very little about track, know that it takes an extraordinary effort to break four minutes over the 1,609-metre race.

How many high schoolers have broken the 4-minute mile?

Seventeen U.S. high school students have run the mile in less than four minutes since 1964.

What is the fastest 1 mile time?

3:43.13The current world record for one mile is 3:43.13, set by Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco in 1999.

Why did it take so long to break the 4-minute mile?

According to legend, experts said for years that the human body was simply not capable of a 4-minute mile. It wasn't just dangerous; it was impossible. Further legends hold that people had tried for over a thousand years to break the barrier, even tying bulls behind them to increase the incentive to do the impossible.

Who was the first person to run a mile in less than 4 minutes?

Look back at the day 60 years ago when British medical student Roger Bannister became the first man to run a mile in less than 4 minutes. Roger Bannister wavered like the notoriously fickle English weather with every hard gust that blew across Oxford’s Iffley Road track on the evening of May 6, 1954. From the moment he had left his London flat that ...

How fast was the first lap of the quarter mile?

“Faster!”. Bannister commanded his pacemaker, who ignored the order and kept his steady gait as they completed the first lap of the quarter-mile oval in 57.5 seconds and reached the halfway point in 1:58. Chataway now took to the lead, but the pace slowed.

Who holds the world record for the mile?

The current world record for the mile, held by Moroccan Hicham El Guerrouj since 1999, is 3:43.

How long did it take Bannister to finish the third lap?

Chataway now took to the lead, but the pace slowed. Bannister completed the third lap in 3:00.7 and needed to post a 59-second final lap to make history. With 300 yards to go, Bannister began his kick. “Impelled by a combination of fear and pride,” he breathed in the encouragement of the crowd.

Who was the first person to run a 4 minute mile?

Blue plaque recording the first ever sub-four-minute mile run by Roger Bannister on 6 May 1954 at Oxford University's Iffley Road Track. A four-minute mile is the completion of a mile run (1.6 km) in four minutes or less. It was first achieved in 1954 by Roger Bannister, at age 25, in 3:59.4. The "four-minute barrier" has since been broken by ...

Who is the woman who ran the 4 minute mile?

No woman has yet run a four-minute mile. As of 2019. , the women's world record is held by Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands, with a time of 4:12.33 clocked at the Diamond League meeting in Monaco, in 2019. Prior to Hassan, Svetlana Masterkova 's 1996 women's world record (4:12.56) had stood for almost 23 years.

How long did it take to run a mile?

On 10 October 1796, The Sporting Magazine reported that a young man called Weller, who was one of three brothers, "undertook for a wager of three guineas to run one mile on the Banbury Road, in four minutes, which he performed two seconds within the time." This is equivalent to £312 in 2019 yet about 5 months' a typical rural labourer's pay then. By the late 1700s, a mile could be routinely measured to within a few inches; watches, thanks to John Harrison, could measure 4 minutes to within 0.0009 sec (i.e. gain or lose 10 seconds a month), and after about 1750 the mass production of highly accurate watches was well underway.

How fast is a mile?

Running a mile in four minutes translates to a speed of 15 miles per hour (24 km/h).

Who played John Landy in the 4 minute mile?

In 1988, the ABC and the BBC co-produced The Four Minute Mile, a miniseries dramatization of the race to the four-minute mile, featuring Richard Huw as Bannister and Nique Needles as John Landy (who was simultaneously pursuing the milestone). It was written by David Williamson and directed by Jim Goddard.

When was the 4 minute barrier first broken?

Breaking the four-minute barrier was first achieved on 6 May 1954 at Oxford University's Iffley Road Track, by British athlete Roger Bannister, with the help of fellow-runners Chris Chataway and Chris Brasher as pacemakers.

Who broke the 4 minute barrier?

Record holders. Breaking the four-minute barrier was first achieved on 6 May 1954 at Oxford University's Iffley Road Track, by British athlete Roger Bannister , with the help of fellow-runners Chris Chataway and Chris Brasher as pacemakers.

Who is the first four minute miler?

LONDON R OGER BANNISTER crossed his long, powerful legs, balanced his flowered teacup beside him on the cushion of a light gray couch next to a fat medical text and talked passionately about running. “I think it's marvelous the way so many people in the United States have taken up running, just for fun and recreation,” said the world's first four‐minute miler. “It's coming along here in Britain, too. But the Americans are ahead. Given a good idea, such as jogging, Americans tend to be less self‐conscious and more enthusiastic about it.”

How many minutes did John Bannister run?

Strangely, a defeat spurred Bannister's commitment to breaking four minutes. His fourth place in the 1952 Olympics was a personal and national failure. Yet, while training for the Olympics, he had run three‐quarters of a mile in 2:52.9 and realized that a fourminute mile was within his grasp.

Who was the first person to run a mile?

The sad news of the passing of Roger Bannister, the first human being to run a four-minute mile, is an opportunity to think about his legacy — not just as one of the great athletes of the past century, but as an innovator, a change agent, and an icon of... The sad news of the passing of Roger Bannister, the first human being to run ...

How long did it take John Landy to break the 4 minute barrier?

Just 46 days Bannister’s feat, John Landy, an Australian runner, not only broke the barrier again, with a time of 3 minutes 58 seconds. Then, just a year later, three runners broke the four-minute barrier in a single race.

How many runners have conquered a barrier that had once been considered hopelessly out of reach?

Over the last half century, more than a thousand runners have conquered a barrier that had once been considered hopelessly out of reach. Well, what goes for runners goes for leaders running organizations. In business, progress does not move in straight lines.

How long was Roger Bannister's time?

Most people know the basic story of Roger Bannister, who, on May 6, 1954, busted through the four-minute barrier with a time of three minutes, fifty-nine and four-tenths of a second.

Who set the record for the fastest mile in 1886?

In 1886, in front of a crowd of 20,000 at Lillie Bridge in west London, WALTER GEORGE (b1858) from Wiltshire set a mile time of 4:12 ¾, which stood for 29yrs. Walter even raced in the USA against their top miler.

When was the first mile WR ratified?

In 1912 the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) was established by 17 nations in Stockholm partly to ratify WRs. The following year JOHN PAUL JONES (b1890) from Cornell university set the first IAAF-ratified mile WR of 4:14.4, slower than George’s time.

How many athletes have held the mile WR?

23 athletes have held the mile WR since IAAF ratification in 1913 over 86yrs. Times have plummeted from 14.4secs above the 4mins barrier to 16.87secs below it, a drop of over 12%.

How many times did the mile WR change in 1981?

Amazingly, in 1981, in the space of 9 days, the mile WR changed 3 times. On August 19 th in the Zurich Weltklasse, paced by the American Tom Byers, who had won the Dream Mile that year, Coe took back the WR in a time of 3:48.53.

Who holds the 1500 WR?

It is incredible to think that the current WR for the mile was set in 1999 in Rome by the Moroccan HITCHAM EL GUERROUJ (b1974), who also still holds the 1500m WR of 3:26.00.

Who was the first person to run a 4 minute mile?

Blue plaque recording the first ever sub-four-minute mile run by Roger Bannister on 6 May 1954 at Oxford University's Iffley Road Track. A four-minute mile is the completion of a mile run (1.6 km) in four minutes or less. It was first achieved in 1954 by Roger Bannister, at age 25, in 3:59.4. The "four-minute barrier" has since been broken by ...

Who is the woman who ran the 4 minute mile?

No woman has yet run a four-minute mile. As of 2019. , the women's world record is held by Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands, with a time of 4:12.33 clocked at the Diamond League meeting in Monaco, in 2019. Prior to Hassan, Svetlana Masterkova 's 1996 women's world record (4:12.56) had stood for almost 23 years.

How long did it take to run a mile?

On 10 October 1796, The Sporting Magazine reported that a young man called Weller, who was one of three brothers, "undertook for a wager of three guineas to run one mile on the Banbury Road, in four minutes, which he performed two seconds within the time." This is equivalent to £312 in 2019 yet about 5 months' a typical rural labourer's pay then. By the late 1700s, a mile could be routinely measured to within a few inches; watches, thanks to John Harrison, could measure 4 minutes to within 0.0009 sec (i.e. gain or lose 10 seconds a month), and after about 1750 the mass production of highly accurate watches was well underway.

How fast is a mile?

Running a mile in four minutes translates to a speed of 15 miles per hour (24 km/h).

Who played John Landy in the 4 minute mile?

In 1988, the ABC and the BBC co-produced The Four Minute Mile, a miniseries dramatization of the race to the four-minute mile, featuring Richard Huw as Bannister and Nique Needles as John Landy (who was simultaneously pursuing the milestone). It was written by David Williamson and directed by Jim Goddard.

When was the 4 minute barrier first broken?

Breaking the four-minute barrier was first achieved on 6 May 1954 at Oxford University's Iffley Road Track, by British athlete Roger Bannister, with the help of fellow-runners Chris Chataway and Chris Brasher as pacemakers.

Who was the first female athlete to run a mile in less than 4 minutes and 15 seconds?

Masterkova became the first female athlete to run a mile in less than 4 minutes and 15 seconds. In 1997, Daniel Komen of Kenya ran two miles in less than eight minutes, doubling up on Bannister's accomplishment. He did it again in February 1998, falling just 0.3 seconds behind his previous performance of 7:58.61.

Who was the first person to run a mile in under four minutes?

Roger Bannister in 1954, becoming the first person to run a mile in under four minutes. (Bentley Archive /Popperfoto/Getty Images) Health Running. In Stride.

Who ran the mile in 4 minutes?

In early June, Reed Brown , a Texas high school senior, became the tenth U.S. high schooler in history to run the mile in under four minutes. In so doing, he joined a once-exclusive club whose membership has doubled in the last three years.

How many high schoolers have done the 4 minute mile?

Now, including Brown, five high schoolers have done it since 2015.

When did the Miracle Mile happen?

August 7, 1954: The Empire Games in Vancouver, Canada, pits the two titans against one another in an event billed the “ Miracle Mile .”. Bannister outkicks Landry to win the first race where two men run under four minutes.

Who was the first person to run a mile?

May 6, 1954: Paced by his friends Chris Brasher and Chris Chataway, 25-year-old medical student Roger Bannister runs 3:59.4 on the Iffley Road Track in Oxford, England, becoming the first human to run a sub four-minute mile.

Who was the first person to break the 4 minute barrier?

June 1, 1957: Don Bowden becomes the first American to go sub-four, running 3:58.7 in Stockton, California. June 5, 1964: Jim Ryun, a 17-year-old junior at Wichita East High School in Kansas, becomes the first high schooler to break the four-minute barrier. He would do it five more times before graduating, and still holds ...

Who broke Jim Ryun's mile record?

May 25, 2001: At the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon, Alan Webb, a senior South Lakes High School in Virginia, runs 3:53.43 to break Jim Ryun’s 36-year-old record. As a professional, in 2007, Webb went on to set the current U.S. mile record: 3:46.91.

Overview

  • For years, so many athletes had tried and failed to run a mile in less than four minutes that people made it out to be a physical impossibility. The world record for a mile was 4 minutes and 1.3 seconds, set by Gunder Hagg of Sweden in 1945. Despite, or perhaps because of, the psychologi…
See more on history.com

In popular culture

Record holders

Possible other claims

See also

Further reading

In 1955, Putnam & Co. Ltd. published Roger Bannister's account of the events in The First Four Minutes. This was later adapted as "The Four-Minute Mile" by The Reader's Digest Association, Ltd. in 1958.
In the 17 November 1956 Season 2 Episode 26 Whole No. 65 of Science Fiction Theatre entitled "Three Minute Mile", a scientist (Marshall Thompson) attempts to create a super athlete (Martin …

External links

Breaking the four-minute barrier was first achieved on 6 May 1954 at Oxford University's Iffley Road Track, by British athlete Roger Bannister, with the help of fellow-runners Chris Chataway and Chris Brasher as pacemakers.
Two months later, during the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games hosted in Vancouver, B.C., two competing runners, Australia's John Landy and B…

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9