Four-minute mile
Encyclopedia
Mile run
The mile run is a middle-distance foot race which is among the more popular events in track running.The history of the mile run event began in England, where it was used as a distance for gambling races...
(exactly 1,609.344 metres, 1,760 yards) in less than four minute
Minute
A minute is a unit of measurement of time or of angle. The minute is a unit of time equal to 1/60th of an hour or 60 seconds. In the UTC time scale, a minute on rare occasions has 59 or 61 seconds; see leap second. The minute is not an SI unit; however, it is accepted for use with SI units...
s. It was first achieved in 1954 by Roger Bannister
Roger Bannister
Sir Roger Gilbert Bannister, CBE is an English former athlete best known for running the first recorded mile in less than 4 minutes...
in 3:59.4. The 'four minute barrier' has since been broken by many male athletes, and is now the standard of all male professional middle distance
Middle distance track event
Middle distance running events are track races longer than sprints, up to 3000 metres. The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle distance event. The 880 yard run, or half mile, was the forebear to the...
runners
Running
Running is a means of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. It is simply defined in athletics terms as a gait in which at regular points during the running cycle both feet are off the ground...
. In the last 50 years the mile record has been lowered by almost 17 seconds. Running a mile in four minutes translates to a speed of 15 miles per hour (or 2:29.13 per kilometer, or 14.91 seconds per 100 meters). The average human male runs between 6 and 11 miles per hour.
Record holders
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
's John Walker, the first man to run the mile under 3:50, managed to run 135 sub-four-minute miles during his career (during which he was the first person to run over 100 sub-four-minute miles), and American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Steve Scott has run the most sub-four-minute miles, with 136. Currently, the mile record is held by Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
's Hicham El Guerrouj
Hicham El Guerrouj
Hicham El Guerrouj "King of the Mile" is a Moroccan former middle distance runner...
, who ran a time of 3:43.13 in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
in 1999.
During the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
The 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Vancouver, in the province of British Columbia in Canada, from 30 July-7 August 1954. These were the first games since the name change from British Empire Games took effect in 1952....
hosted in Vancouver, B.C., two competing runners, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
's John Landy
John Landy
John Michael Landy, AC, CVO, MBE is an Australian former Olympic track athlete. He was the second man to break the four-minute mile barrier in the mile run, and he held the world records for the 1500 metre run and the mile race...
and Britain's
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Roger Bannister
Roger Bannister
Sir Roger Gilbert Bannister, CBE is an English former athlete best known for running the first recorded mile in less than 4 minutes...
, ran the distance of one mile in under four minutes. The race's end is memorialized in a statue of the two (with Landy glancing over his shoulder, thus losing the race) placed in front of the Pacific National Exhibition
Pacific National Exhibition
The Pacific National Exhibition is a non profit organization which hosts an annual 17-day summer fair, seasonal amusement park, and arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It usually begins in mid-to-late August, and ends in early September, usually Labour Day.-History:The exhibition has been...
entrance plaza.
In 1964, America's
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Jim Ryun
Jim Ryun
James Ronald Ryun is an American former track athlete and politician, who was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1996 to 2007, representing the 2nd District in Kansas. In the 2006 election, Ryun was defeated by Democratic challenger Nancy Boyda...
became the first high school runner to break four minutes for the mile, running 3:59.0 as a junior and a then-American record 3:55.3 as a senior in 1965. Tim Danielson
Tim Danielson
Timothy Ralph "Tim" Danielson is a former American middle distance runner. He is one of only five U.S. high school athletes to ever run the mile in under four minutes.-High school:...
(1966) and Marty Liquori
Marty Liquori
Martin Liquori is an American middle distance athlete.Liquori first rose to fame when he became the third American high schooler to break the four-minute mile by running a 3:59.8 in 1967, three years after Jim Ryun first did it.He grew up in Cedar Grove, New Jersey and attended Essex Catholic...
(1967) also came in under four minutes, but Ryun's high school record stood until Alan Webb
Alan Webb (athlete)
Alan Webb is an American athlete. He holds the American record in the mile, with a time of 3:46.91. He competes professionally for Nike.-High school:...
ran 3:53.43 in 2001. Ten years later, in 2011, Lukas Verzbicas
Lukas Verzbicas
Lukas Verzbicas is a Lithuanian long-distance runner and triathlete. He won the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships in 2009 and in 2010 , and the Nike Cross Nationals invitational in 2010 , becoming the first runner to win both FLCC and NXN in the same year, and only the third to win FLCC...
became the fifth high schooler under four minutes.
Another illustration of the progression of performance in the men's mile is that in 1994, forty years after Bannister's breaking of the barrier, the Irish
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
runner Eamonn Coghlan
Eamonn Coghlan
Eamonn Christopher Coghlan is an Irish Senator and former athlete, who specialised in middle distance track events and the 5000 metres...
became the first man over the age of 40 to run a sub-four-minute mile.
No woman has yet run a four-minute mile: the current women's world record is held by retired Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n Svetlana Masterkova
Svetlana Masterkova
Svetlana Alexandrovna Masterkova is a Russian former middle distance runner and current world record holder for the mile. At the 1996 Summer Olympics, she won the gold medal in both the 800 and 1,500 metres....
, with a time of 4:12.56 in 1996.
In 1997, Daniel Komen
Daniel Komen
Daniel Kipngetich Komen is a Kenyan middle- and long-distance runner. Remembered for his rivalry with Haile Gebrselassie, Komen's most notable achievements came in a two-year period between 1996 and 1998, during which he broke a string of world records...
of Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
ran two miles in less than eight minutes, doubling up on Bannister's accomplishment.
Earlier claim
Some sources (notably OlympicSummer Olympic Games
The Summer Olympic Games or the Games of the Olympiad are an international multi-sport event, occurring every four years, organized by the International Olympic Committee. Medals are awarded in each event, with gold medals for first place, silver for second and bronze for third, a tradition that...
medallist Peter Radford
Peter Radford
Peter Frank Radford is a former British athlete, who competed at 100 & 200 metres , broke world records, and won Olympic medals, despite being using a wheelchair by a serious kidney illness as a child.He took up competitive running at the age of 12, soon joining Birchfield Harriers, where he was...
) contend the first successful four-minute mile was run in London by James Parrott on 9 May 1770. Parrott's route began on Goswell Road, before turning down Old Street
Old Street
Old Street is a street in east London that runs west to east from Goswell Road in Clerkenwell, in the London Borough of Islington, to the crossroads where it intersects with Shoreditch High Street , Kingsland Road and Hackney Road in Shoreditch in the London Borough of Hackney.The nearest...
, finishing at St Leonard's, Shoreditch
St Leonard's, Shoreditch
St Leonard's, Shoreditch is the ancient parish church of Shoreditch, often known simply as Shoreditch Church. It is located at the intersection of Shoreditch High Street with Hackney Road, within the London Borough of Hackney. The current building dates from about 1740...
. Although timing methods at this time were - following the invention of the chronometer
Marine chronometer
A marine chronometer is a clock that is precise and accurate enough to be used as a portable time standard; it can therefore be used to determine longitude by means of celestial navigation...
by John Harrison
John Harrison
John Harrison was a self-educated English clockmaker. He invented the marine chronometer, a long-sought device in solving the problem of establishing the East-West position or longitude of a ship at sea, thus revolutionising and extending the possibility of safe long distance sea travel in the Age...
- accurate enough to measure the four minutes correctly, and sporting authorities of the time accepted the claim as genuine, the record is not recognised by modern sporting bodies.
It is also reputed that Glenn Cunningham
Glenn Cunningham
Glenn Cunningham may refer to:*Glenn Cunningham , American runner, Olympic Games medalist*Glenn Cunningham , American politician, mayor of Omaha, and congressman for Nebraska...
achieved a four minute mile in a workout. In addition to being unsubstantiated, a workout run would not count as a record.
Popular culture
In 1988, the ABCAustralian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
and the BBC co-produced The Four Minute Mile, a miniseries
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
dramatisation of the race to the four-minute mile, featuring Richard Huw as Bannister and Nique Needles as John Landy
John Landy
John Michael Landy, AC, CVO, MBE is an Australian former Olympic track athlete. He was the second man to break the four-minute mile barrier in the mile run, and he held the world records for the 1500 metre run and the mile race...
(who was simultaneously pursuing the milestone). It was written by David Williamson
David Williamson
David Keith Williamson AO is one of Australia's best-known playwrights. He has also written screenplays and teleplays.-Biography:...
and directed by Jim Goddard
Jim Goddard
Jim Goddard is an English film and TV director born in London on February 2, 1936. He has directed episodes of many UK TV series such as Public Eye, Callan, Special Branch, The Sweeney, The Ruth Rendell Mysteries, The Bell and Holby City...
.
A second film version (entitled Four Minutes) was made in 2005, starring Jamie MacLachlan as Bannister.
The watch used to time the original event is owned by Jeffrey Archer.
See also
- World record progression for the mile runWorld record progression for the mile runThe world record in the mile run is the best mark set by a male or female runner in the middle-distance track and field event. The IAAF 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 minutes, while Svetlana Masterkova...
- Track and fieldTrack and fieldTrack and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
- Dream MileDream MileThe Dream Mile was a match race between Jim Ryun and Marty Liquori on May 16, 1971. The event took place at the Martin Luther King International Freedom Games at Franklin Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
- Middle distance track eventMiddle distance track eventMiddle distance running events are track races longer than sprints, up to 3000 metres. The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle distance event. The 880 yard run, or half mile, was the forebear to the...
- 10-second barrier10-second barrierThe 10-second barrier is a term used in track and field athletics which refers to the physical and psychological barrier of completing the men's 100 metres sprint in under ten seconds...
External links
- Roger Bannister and the Four-Minute Mile Original reports from The Times
- Forbes magazine declared four-minute mile as "greatest athletic achievement"
- Official website for documentary - Franz Stampfl: The Man Behind the Miracle Mile - a film about the coach behind Bannister's successful mile record attempt