1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:05,680 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:05,800 --> 00:00:09,280 Speaker 1: Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, a 3 00:00:09,360 --> 00:00:12,680 Speaker 1: show that believes it's never too late to make history. 4 00:00:15,320 --> 00:00:18,840 Speaker 1: I'm Gabe Luesier, and in this episode we're talking about 5 00:00:18,840 --> 00:00:22,560 Speaker 1: a game changing athletic feat that many people thought wasn't 6 00:00:22,600 --> 00:00:33,520 Speaker 1: humanly possible until one man proved it was. The day 7 00:00:33,960 --> 00:00:39,280 Speaker 1: was May sixth, nineteen fifty four, British medical student Roger 8 00:00:39,400 --> 00:00:42,800 Speaker 1: Banister became the first person to run a mile in 9 00:00:42,960 --> 00:00:47,280 Speaker 1: under four minutes. He set the new world record during 10 00:00:47,280 --> 00:00:51,120 Speaker 1: a competitive race in Oxford, England, finishing with a time 11 00:00:51,240 --> 00:00:55,440 Speaker 1: of three minutes and fifty nine point four seconds. He 12 00:00:55,480 --> 00:00:58,920 Speaker 1: only broke the four minute mark by fractions of a second, 13 00:00:59,280 --> 00:01:02,800 Speaker 1: but that was a nough Banister had achieved defeat that 14 00:01:02,920 --> 00:01:07,280 Speaker 1: many had considered physically impossible, and his example gave other 15 00:01:07,400 --> 00:01:11,959 Speaker 1: athletes the confidence to do the same. Running a mile 16 00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:14,760 Speaker 1: in less than four minutes was one of the longest 17 00:01:14,760 --> 00:01:19,080 Speaker 1: standing barriers in track and field. Middle distance runners had 18 00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:21,720 Speaker 1: made serious efforts to crack it since at least the 19 00:01:21,800 --> 00:01:25,880 Speaker 1: eighteen eighties, but despite working with the world's top coaches 20 00:01:26,200 --> 00:01:29,440 Speaker 1: and trying every training method known to mand none of 21 00:01:29,480 --> 00:01:33,040 Speaker 1: them could break the four minute barrier. By the early 22 00:01:33,120 --> 00:01:37,560 Speaker 1: twentieth century, many runners, coaches, and doctors had begun to 23 00:01:37,600 --> 00:01:41,160 Speaker 1: think it wasn't physically possible to run a mile that fast, 24 00:01:41,480 --> 00:01:44,959 Speaker 1: and that it might be dangerous or even deadly to try. 25 00:01:45,880 --> 00:01:50,440 Speaker 1: But then in nineteen forty five, Swedish runner Gounder Haig 26 00:01:50,920 --> 00:01:53,760 Speaker 1: set a new world record when he ran a mile 27 00:01:53,920 --> 00:01:58,320 Speaker 1: in four minutes and one point three seconds. Hague had 28 00:01:58,360 --> 00:02:01,920 Speaker 1: come this close to breaking four minutes, and his near 29 00:02:02,080 --> 00:02:05,480 Speaker 1: miss made other runners think that maybe chasing the goal 30 00:02:05,640 --> 00:02:09,639 Speaker 1: wasn't so crazy after all. Maybe they had just convinced 31 00:02:09,680 --> 00:02:13,840 Speaker 1: themselves it was impossible because the challenge had seemed so daunting. 32 00:02:14,600 --> 00:02:18,960 Speaker 1: Maybe there was no physical barrier at all. Maybe it 33 00:02:19,080 --> 00:02:22,800 Speaker 1: was just a mental one. To find out, a group 34 00:02:22,840 --> 00:02:26,400 Speaker 1: of runners in the early nineteen fifties devoted themselves to 35 00:02:26,480 --> 00:02:30,840 Speaker 1: crossing the three minute threshold, and Roger Banister became the 36 00:02:30,880 --> 00:02:35,679 Speaker 1: first four minute miler to do it. Born in Harrow, England, 37 00:02:35,720 --> 00:02:39,639 Speaker 1: in nineteen twenty nine, Roger Banister began running to escape 38 00:02:39,680 --> 00:02:44,080 Speaker 1: the terrors of his childhood, first school bullies and later 39 00:02:44,440 --> 00:02:48,360 Speaker 1: the air raid sirens of the London Blitz. He managed 40 00:02:48,400 --> 00:02:52,120 Speaker 1: to survive both, and later used his athletic prowess and 41 00:02:52,200 --> 00:02:56,600 Speaker 1: his intellect to earn an athletic scholarship to Oxford University. 42 00:02:57,400 --> 00:03:00,200 Speaker 1: He became one of the top mile runners during his 43 00:03:00,280 --> 00:03:03,600 Speaker 1: time there, and after graduating, he continued to run for 44 00:03:03,639 --> 00:03:09,359 Speaker 1: the Amateur Athletic Association. Banister also enrolled at Saint Mary's 45 00:03:09,360 --> 00:03:12,720 Speaker 1: Hospital Medical School in London with the goal of becoming 46 00:03:12,760 --> 00:03:17,080 Speaker 1: a neurologist. He never intended to become a career athlete, 47 00:03:17,240 --> 00:03:19,960 Speaker 1: and later said quote, as soon as I ceased to 48 00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:22,480 Speaker 1: be a student, I always knew I would stop being 49 00:03:22,520 --> 00:03:26,000 Speaker 1: an athlete. But while he was still at medical school, 50 00:03:26,200 --> 00:03:30,760 Speaker 1: Banister would continue to race competitively. In nineteen fifty one 51 00:03:30,919 --> 00:03:34,440 Speaker 1: and nineteen fifty three he won British championships in the 52 00:03:34,480 --> 00:03:38,360 Speaker 1: one mile run, though on both occasions his time still 53 00:03:38,440 --> 00:03:42,920 Speaker 1: fell short of gounder Haig's record, but Banister had a 54 00:03:42,920 --> 00:03:46,800 Speaker 1: good feeling about the upcoming nineteen fifty four running season. 55 00:03:47,440 --> 00:03:50,320 Speaker 1: In the course of his studies, he researched the mechanics 56 00:03:50,320 --> 00:03:53,080 Speaker 1: of running, and then used what he learned to develop 57 00:03:53,120 --> 00:03:57,640 Speaker 1: a personalized training regiment, one that would hopefully reduce his 58 00:03:57,760 --> 00:04:02,200 Speaker 1: chance of injury and improve his running speed. Pleased with 59 00:04:02,280 --> 00:04:04,720 Speaker 1: his progress, he decided to take a run at the 60 00:04:04,760 --> 00:04:08,600 Speaker 1: record during that year's annual match between the Amateur Athletic 61 00:04:08,640 --> 00:04:13,920 Speaker 1: Association and his alma mater, Oxford University. The race was 62 00:04:13,960 --> 00:04:17,960 Speaker 1: held on May sixth, nineteen fifty four, at the famously 63 00:04:18,160 --> 00:04:23,000 Speaker 1: shabby if Lee Road track in Oxford. Weather conditions were 64 00:04:23,200 --> 00:04:27,320 Speaker 1: less than favorable that day, with cold temperatures, strong winds, 65 00:04:27,360 --> 00:04:31,040 Speaker 1: and intermittent rain all conspiring to throw the runners off 66 00:04:31,080 --> 00:04:35,640 Speaker 1: their game. To make matters worse, a powerful crosswind began 67 00:04:35,680 --> 00:04:38,640 Speaker 1: to blow across the track just as the mile race 68 00:04:38,839 --> 00:04:43,320 Speaker 1: was about to start. Despite the bad weather, several hundred 69 00:04:43,320 --> 00:04:45,880 Speaker 1: people came out to watch the big match and to 70 00:04:45,920 --> 00:04:49,120 Speaker 1: see if twenty five year old Roger Banister could really 71 00:04:49,200 --> 00:04:53,400 Speaker 1: do the impossible. The tall, lanky blonde took his place 72 00:04:53,480 --> 00:04:56,960 Speaker 1: on the starting line alongside the two other principal runners 73 00:04:56,960 --> 00:05:02,280 Speaker 1: for the AAA, Chris Chataway and Chris Brasher. The race 74 00:05:02,279 --> 00:05:05,520 Speaker 1: had been carefully planned between them, with the two Chrisses 75 00:05:05,560 --> 00:05:08,760 Speaker 1: agreeing to act as pace setters for Banister to aid 76 00:05:08,880 --> 00:05:12,679 Speaker 1: in his attempt. The starting gun was fired at six 77 00:05:12,760 --> 00:05:15,479 Speaker 1: p m sharp and the runners took off along the 78 00:05:15,520 --> 00:05:19,520 Speaker 1: wet clay track Brasher led the field for the first 79 00:05:19,520 --> 00:05:23,000 Speaker 1: two laps, reaching the half mile mark right on target 80 00:05:23,160 --> 00:05:27,280 Speaker 1: at one minute and fifty eight seconds. Chadaway took up 81 00:05:27,279 --> 00:05:31,080 Speaker 1: the mantle in the third lap, with Banister following closely behind. 82 00:05:31,960 --> 00:05:34,760 Speaker 1: They both hit the three quarter mile mark in just 83 00:05:34,839 --> 00:05:38,800 Speaker 1: over three minutes. Then, with about three hundred and fifty 84 00:05:38,880 --> 00:05:43,000 Speaker 1: yards left to go, Banister poured on the speed. He 85 00:05:43,120 --> 00:05:47,200 Speaker 1: lengthened his stride and sped past Chadaway rounding the final 86 00:05:47,279 --> 00:05:50,400 Speaker 1: bend toward the finish line. The roar of the crowd 87 00:05:50,480 --> 00:05:53,200 Speaker 1: spurred him on, and with a final burst of speed, 88 00:05:53,480 --> 00:05:56,479 Speaker 1: he broke the tape with an official time of three 89 00:05:56,560 --> 00:06:01,880 Speaker 1: minutes fifty nine point four seconds. The timekeeper teased the 90 00:06:01,960 --> 00:06:05,640 Speaker 1: crowd by drawing out the reveal of Banister's finishing time, 91 00:06:06,120 --> 00:06:08,719 Speaker 1: and when he finally got to the word three, the 92 00:06:08,800 --> 00:06:12,360 Speaker 1: cheering was so loud that no one even heard the rest. 93 00:06:13,200 --> 00:06:16,840 Speaker 1: Years later, Banister recalled the final moments of his record 94 00:06:16,839 --> 00:06:20,960 Speaker 1: breaking run, saying quote, the earth seemed to move with me. 95 00:06:21,480 --> 00:06:24,400 Speaker 1: I found a new source of power and beauty, a 96 00:06:24,480 --> 00:06:28,840 Speaker 1: source I never knew existed. Breaking the four minute mile 97 00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:32,599 Speaker 1: had been a transcendent moment for Roger Banister and most 98 00:06:32,600 --> 00:06:35,720 Speaker 1: of his rivals were just as relieved that the barrier 99 00:06:35,880 --> 00:06:39,799 Speaker 1: had finally been broken, and somehow, once they had seen 100 00:06:39,880 --> 00:06:42,880 Speaker 1: that it really could be done, they were able to 101 00:06:42,960 --> 00:06:47,680 Speaker 1: do it too. In fact, Banister's record only stood for 102 00:06:47,760 --> 00:06:52,679 Speaker 1: about six weeks. It was bested by Australian runner John Landy, 103 00:06:52,880 --> 00:06:56,200 Speaker 1: who finished a mile race in Finland in three minutes 104 00:06:56,320 --> 00:07:00,440 Speaker 1: and fifty seven point nine seconds. The quick and over 105 00:07:00,600 --> 00:07:04,280 Speaker 1: set the stage for the legendary miracle mile race between 106 00:07:04,320 --> 00:07:07,839 Speaker 1: Banister and Landy. It took place just a few weeks 107 00:07:07,920 --> 00:07:13,160 Speaker 1: later at the Empire Games in Vancouver, Canada. Landy maintained 108 00:07:13,160 --> 00:07:16,040 Speaker 1: a healthy lead for nearly the whole race, but in 109 00:07:16,080 --> 00:07:19,280 Speaker 1: the home stretch Banister pulled out all the stops once 110 00:07:19,320 --> 00:07:23,600 Speaker 1: again to claim first place. His finishing time that day 111 00:07:23,960 --> 00:07:27,320 Speaker 1: was three minutes and fifty eight point eight seconds, a 112 00:07:27,400 --> 00:07:30,480 Speaker 1: little slower than Landy's record, but still good enough for 113 00:07:30,520 --> 00:07:35,920 Speaker 1: the win. Afterward, Sports Illustrated named Banister its first Sportsman 114 00:07:35,960 --> 00:07:38,800 Speaker 1: of the Year, and with all that attention, he certainly 115 00:07:38,840 --> 00:07:42,160 Speaker 1: could have gone pro if he had wanted to. Instead, 116 00:07:42,440 --> 00:07:45,400 Speaker 1: Banister stuck to his plan of becoming a doctor and 117 00:07:45,520 --> 00:07:50,800 Speaker 1: retired from running at the end that summer. Doctor Banister 118 00:07:51,240 --> 00:07:54,320 Speaker 1: went on to have a long successful career in medicine 119 00:07:54,480 --> 00:07:56,880 Speaker 1: and served for many years as the director of the 120 00:07:56,960 --> 00:08:01,040 Speaker 1: National Hospital for Nervous Diseases in London, and though he 121 00:08:01,160 --> 00:08:05,280 Speaker 1: no longer competed himself, he still stayed involved in athletics too. 122 00:08:06,240 --> 00:08:09,200 Speaker 1: In the early nineteen seventies he served as chairman of 123 00:08:09,240 --> 00:08:12,680 Speaker 1: the British Sports Council, and from nineteen seventy six to 124 00:08:12,760 --> 00:08:15,440 Speaker 1: nineteen eighty three he served as the President of the 125 00:08:15,480 --> 00:08:20,720 Speaker 1: International Council of Sports Science and Physical Recreation. He also 126 00:08:20,840 --> 00:08:24,400 Speaker 1: helped combat drug use in competitive sports by assisting in 127 00:08:24,440 --> 00:08:29,240 Speaker 1: the development of the first test for anabolic steroids. For 128 00:08:29,320 --> 00:08:33,400 Speaker 1: these achievements, but his four minute mile in particular, Doctor 129 00:08:33,480 --> 00:08:37,600 Speaker 1: Banister was dubbed Sir Banister by Queen Elizabeth the Second. 130 00:08:38,679 --> 00:08:41,520 Speaker 1: He lived happily for many years with his wife and 131 00:08:41,600 --> 00:08:44,520 Speaker 1: four children, and passed away at the age of eighty 132 00:08:44,559 --> 00:08:49,320 Speaker 1: eight on March third, twenty eighteen. In the decades since 133 00:08:49,400 --> 00:08:53,920 Speaker 1: Banister's landmark run, nearly two thousand athletes have followed his 134 00:08:54,040 --> 00:08:58,160 Speaker 1: lead and broken the four minute mile. As of twenty 135 00:08:58,200 --> 00:09:01,600 Speaker 1: twenty four, the current time to beat is three minutes 136 00:09:01,679 --> 00:09:05,120 Speaker 1: and forty three point one seconds, a record set by 137 00:09:05,200 --> 00:09:11,200 Speaker 1: Moroccan runner Yeshem l Garouge way back in nineteen ninety nine. 138 00:09:11,280 --> 00:09:14,720 Speaker 1: Some experts think that that twenty five year reign means 139 00:09:14,720 --> 00:09:17,000 Speaker 1: that runners have finally found the limit of what the 140 00:09:17,080 --> 00:09:21,040 Speaker 1: human body can do, but it's worth remembering that's also 141 00:09:21,080 --> 00:09:28,240 Speaker 1: what they said about the four minute mile. I'm gabeluesiay, 142 00:09:28,520 --> 00:09:31,600 Speaker 1: and hopefully you now know a little more about history 143 00:09:31,640 --> 00:09:35,079 Speaker 1: today than you did yesterday. If you'd like to keep 144 00:09:35,160 --> 00:09:38,040 Speaker 1: up with the show, you can follow us on Twitter, Facebook, 145 00:09:38,080 --> 00:09:42,320 Speaker 1: and Instagram at TDI HC Show, and if you have 146 00:09:42,360 --> 00:09:45,240 Speaker 1: any comments or suggestions, feel free to send them my 147 00:09:45,320 --> 00:09:50,120 Speaker 1: way by writing to this Day at iHeartMedia dot com. 148 00:09:50,120 --> 00:09:53,199 Speaker 1: Thanks to kazb Bias for producing the show, and thanks 149 00:09:53,200 --> 00:09:55,600 Speaker 1: to you for listening. I'll see you back here again 150 00:09:55,640 --> 00:10:02,040 Speaker 1: tomorrow for another day in history class. The batter put 151 00:10:02,200 --> 00:10:03,400 Speaker 1: the pick the per