Speaker 1: It's human nature to want to push the limits of
Speaker 1: our capabilities, from climbing everest to exploring space. We're practically
Speaker 1: hardwired to go above and beyond, but it's easy to
Speaker 1: forget that some things which seem ordinary now weren't so
Speaker 1: simple until we achieved them. Midway through the twentieth century,
Speaker 1: running a mile in under four minutes seemed impossible, but
Speaker 1: one man dared to try, a medical student from London
Speaker 1: named Roger Banister. Hey, welcome to the pool room, where
Speaker 1: we celebrate the winners, losers and the weird stuff between.
Speaker 2: I'm Tony Armstrong. Roger Banister was.
Speaker 1: Born in nineteen twenty nine and grew up in a
Speaker 1: working class family. As a youngster, he realized he was
Speaker 1: a talented cross country runner and was winning races As
Speaker 1: early as twelve years old. He was only training a
Speaker 1: couple times a week, but he quickly proved his aptitude
Speaker 1: after winning several junior competitions as a teenager, it looked
Speaker 1: like Roger was destined for athletic success, but he was.
Speaker 2: Also academically gifted.
Speaker 1: When Roger was seventeen, a trip with his father became
Speaker 1: a defining experience. They traveled to see a race between
Speaker 1: two of the best runners of the era, Englishman Sidney
Speaker 1: Woodson and Sweden's Arn Anderson. Woodson was nicknamed the Mighty
Speaker 1: Adam and that day in nineteen forty five was his
Speaker 1: career comeback. Anderson went on to win the race, but
Speaker 1: it was a moment of inspiration for Roger. Woodson, Anderson,
Speaker 1: and another suite Gunda Hag, had all been vying for
Speaker 1: the one mile record, and it was Hag who eventually
Speaker 1: came out on top that same year with a time
Speaker 1: of four minutes and one point four seconds, But beating
Speaker 1: that record would soon become Roger Bannister's ambition running a
Speaker 1: sub four minute mile. As Roger's sporting ambitions grew, he
Speaker 1: didn't take his eyes off his academic pursuits. After finishing
Speaker 1: his schooling, he was eventually accepted into Cambridge before applying
Speaker 1: to Oxford. Roger proceeded with a three year medical degree,
Speaker 1: aiming to become a neurologist, but of course Oxford also
Speaker 1: had a great athletic program. His first event was the
Speaker 1: Oxford Freshman's Mile. He came second, recording a time of
Speaker 1: four minutes fifty three. It was far from impressive, but
Speaker 1: it was the first time he'd warn spikes and raced
Speaker 1: on a proper track. Until now, Roger's entire athletic career
Speaker 1: had been cross country running. Roger would race on weekends
Speaker 1: and still only train once or twice a week, but
Speaker 1: gradually focusing on the eight hundred meters, his track times
Speaker 1: began to improve four minutes thirty four minutes twenty four.
Speaker 1: It would still be a few years before he was
Speaker 1: ready to compete at an international level, but Roger had
Speaker 1: made huge strides. He was even his own coach because
Speaker 1: he couldn't find a suitable person for the job. Then,
Speaker 1: in nineteen fifty a milestone, Roger finished third in a
Speaker 1: photo finish at the European Championships. He was just zero
Speaker 1: point two seconds off of gold medal. He didn't think
Speaker 1: much of it himself, but he was almost ready to
Speaker 1: take his next big leap the world stage. At the
Speaker 1: nineteen fifty two Olympics. Roger was primed for success, but
Speaker 1: he ultimately fell short thanks to an extra round being
Speaker 1: added to the fifteen hundred meters. Three races in three
Speaker 1: consecutive days proved too much. Despite being in second place
Speaker 1: in the final with two hundred meters to go. He
Speaker 1: was exhausted and easily overtaken, finishing fourth. As his medical
Speaker 1: career started to take off, Roger almost considered retiring from athletics,
Speaker 1: but his unfulfilled dream of running a mile and under
Speaker 1: four minutes was hard to shake. Another athletic milestone solidified
Speaker 1: that ambition as a genuine possibility. In nineteen fifty three,
Speaker 1: Rogers set a new British record of four minutes and
Speaker 1: three point six seconds. He improved on that time soon
Speaker 1: after four minutes too, but that one wasn't an official event. Regardless,
Speaker 1: Roger was ready for a world shattering attempt at the
Speaker 1: sub four minute mile. On the sixth of May nineteen
Speaker 1: fifty four, around three thousand spectators gathered at the Itfly
Speaker 1: Road track at Oxford. There was a sense of anticipation
Speaker 1: among them. They knew they could be about to witness history.
Speaker 1: If you want to get a sense of what it
Speaker 1: was like, well you can. The whole race was filmed
Speaker 1: and broadcast by the BBC. It was a wet and
Speaker 1: windy morning, not ideal conditions for a track meet. Roger
Speaker 1: tried to stay in routine during the build up Porridge
Speaker 1: for breakfast, a visit to the hospital and time to
Speaker 1: sharpen his spikes before jumping on a train to Oxford.
Speaker 1: As rain lashed the track just forty five minutes before
Speaker 1: the race was due to start, he thought about abandoning
Speaker 1: the attempt, but the gods must have been on his side,
Speaker 1: because just in the nick of time, sunlight broke through
Speaker 1: the dark clouds and the rain subsided. The record attempt
Speaker 1: was on. Roger lined up alongside four pace setters, which
Speaker 1: included his friends and racing colleagues Chris Brusher and Chris Chataway.
Speaker 1: The closest record time stood at four minutes one point
Speaker 1: four seconds yep, the very same time set by the
Speaker 1: Swedish runner Gunda Hag nearly a decade prior. Now he
Speaker 1: was Roger attempting to smash it. The conditions were almost
Speaker 1: perfect now as the starting gun fire From a standing start,
Speaker 1: the runners took off. On the first lap, Roger settled
Speaker 1: into second place behind Brusher, with Chadaway in third.
Speaker 2: This was all part of the plan.
Speaker 1: At the end of the first quarter mile lap, the
Speaker 1: time on the clock read fifty seven point four seconds.
Speaker 1: The runners maintained their formation, staying ahead of the clock
Speaker 1: as they completed lap two, eleven hundred yards in Chadaway
Speaker 1: Spurderhead followed by Roger as Brusha dropped back just like.
Speaker 2: They'd planned in training. Then, heading into the.
Speaker 1: Fourth and final lap, Roger needed to match or beat
Speaker 1: his first lap's pace to break the record. With the
Speaker 1: anticipation building in the crowd, people began to cheer. With
Speaker 1: two hundred and fifty yards to go, Roger began to push.
Speaker 1: With the burst of speed, he took the lead for
Speaker 1: the final stretch. The spectators were on their feet, urging
Speaker 1: him on. Roger took his final few strides and hurled
Speaker 1: himself over the finish line. He collapsed in exhaustion and relief.
Speaker 1: At last, he'd broken the sub four minute mile and
Speaker 1: made history. Roger Banister went on to represent England at
Speaker 1: the nineteen fifty four Commonwealth Games in Vancouver, where he
Speaker 1: won gold in the one mile event. He considered the
Speaker 1: medal a much greater achievement than breaking the sub four
Speaker 1: minute barrier. Roger died on the third of March twenty eighteen,
Speaker 1: at the ripe old age of eighty eight.
Speaker 2: He was honored throughout his life in many ways, statues.
Speaker 1: Plaques, and even knighthood, but in a twenty fourteen interview,
Speaker 1: he said he prefer to be remembered for his medical career.
Speaker 1: He's work in neurology, which spans sixty years. Either way,
Speaker 1: Roger Bannister's lasting impact on the world will never be forgotten.
Speaker 2: The Ballroom is an iHeart production.
Speaker 1: I'm Tony Armstrong and I'll speak to you next time
Speaker 1: for another crack and sports story.
Speaker 2: Cheers,