The Four-Minute Mile (50th Anniversary Edition)

by Roger Bannister

Overview

All sports have pivotal moments, single events that change perceptions forever. Such a moment passed on a blustery May afternoon in 1954, when Roger Bannister broke the "unbreakable" four-minute-mile barrier at the Iffley track of the University of Oxford. His unparalleled achievement is considered one of the two greatest athletic achievements of the twentieth century -- the other being the ascent of Mount Everest. This is the story of that epic event, written frankly and gracefully by one of sport's true heroes. But The Four-Minute Mile is more than an account of a single afternoon. It is a memoir of the first order, a heartfelt telling of the events that shaped Banister's life and his running during sport's Golden Age. Today, fifty years later, lovers of sport -- runners and non-runners alike -- will be moved by this impassioned story.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780762766857
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	05/01/2004
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

SIR ROGER BANNISTER was a medical student at Oxford when he made his famous run in 1954. He retired from competition after graduation, though he continued to run until 1975. He was knighted in 1975 after a successful career as a neurologist.

Read an Excerpt

From the author’s introduction
 
It is strange that the intrinsically simple and unimportant act of placing one foot after another for 1,760 yards, as fast as possible, should become such an important sporting achievement. I think the appeal lies in its simplicity—it needs no money, no equipment, no particular physique, no knowledge, no education—and in a world of increasingly complex technology, it stands out as a naive statement about the nature of man. A man can, with his own two feet, overcome severe difficulties to reach a pinnacle upon which he can declare, “No one has done this before.”

Table of Contents

	Introduction to the 50th Anniversary Edition	vii
	Introduction	1
1.	European Games Berne 1954	5
2.	Early Days	15
3.	Oxford - Initiation	29
4.	Oxford - Graduation	43
5.	Olympic Games Wembley 1948	55
6.	First Tour in America 1949	67
7.	Hesitation and Transition, 1949-50	79
8.	Training and Touring 1950-51	93
9.	Benjamin Franklin Mile and First British Mile Title 1951	107
10.	Preparation for Olympic Games Helsinki 1952	121
11.	Olympic Games Helsinki 1952	131
12.	So Near and Yet - 1953	145
13.	Four-Minute Mile 1954	163
14.	Empire Games Vancouver 1954	179
	Conclusion	197
	Steps to the First Four-Minute Mile	203
	After the Four-Minute Mile	205
	Peril in the Post	235
	Running Cold	239
	Mile Record Holders since 1954	243
	Author's Acknowledgments	245
	Index	247

Editorial Reviews

"Bannister writes in much the same fashion as he runs-with rippling smoothness, eye-catching grace, and spectacular effectiveness." --The New York Times

"...makes for compelling reading..."-- New York Runner

From the Publisher