Post by Salem6 on May 6, 2004 15:49:06 GMT
A day of celebrations will mark the 50th anniversary of Sir Roger Bannister's first sub-four-minute mile on Thursday.
Sir Roger will be returning to Oxford University's Iffley Road sports ground, the scene of his 1954 triumph, for a restaging of the original meeting.
Bannister had a distinguished career in medicine alongside his athletics
Watching from the stands will be Australian John Landy, the second man in the world to break four minutes.
Sir Roger, now 75, will also present the Bannister Medal, for outstanding sporting and academic achievements.
Thursday's race, organised by the British Milers Club, will be held between Oxford University Athletics Club and the Amateur Athletic Association.
The race will start at 1800 BST, the same time as the record-breaking run, and Sir Roger will ring the original bell used in 1954 to signal the final lap.
In addition, a collection of memorabilia associated with the record-breaking run, including the watch used by Olympic gold medallist Harold Abrahams to time it, is going on show at Pembroke College.
Sir Roger was a 25-year-old medical student when he recorded a time of 3mins 59.4 secs for the mile on May 6 1954.
"I hope this acts as an inspiration to sportsmen and women everywhere to keep striving to achieve their best through personal effort alone," he said.
"It may seem incredible today that the world record at this classic distance could be set by an amateur athlete, in bad weather, on a university running track.
"The many great milers whom I hope will be able to join me on 6 May demonstrate the lifelong satisfaction that such achievements bring."
Video:-
Sir Roger Bannister
"The secret was to do the three-quarter mile in three minutes"
news.bbc.co.uk/media/video/40120000/rm/_40120929_sport_bannister_nb_vi.ram
news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/athletics/3688893.stm
Sir Roger will be returning to Oxford University's Iffley Road sports ground, the scene of his 1954 triumph, for a restaging of the original meeting.
Bannister had a distinguished career in medicine alongside his athletics
Watching from the stands will be Australian John Landy, the second man in the world to break four minutes.
Sir Roger, now 75, will also present the Bannister Medal, for outstanding sporting and academic achievements.
Thursday's race, organised by the British Milers Club, will be held between Oxford University Athletics Club and the Amateur Athletic Association.
The race will start at 1800 BST, the same time as the record-breaking run, and Sir Roger will ring the original bell used in 1954 to signal the final lap.
In addition, a collection of memorabilia associated with the record-breaking run, including the watch used by Olympic gold medallist Harold Abrahams to time it, is going on show at Pembroke College.
Sir Roger was a 25-year-old medical student when he recorded a time of 3mins 59.4 secs for the mile on May 6 1954.
"I hope this acts as an inspiration to sportsmen and women everywhere to keep striving to achieve their best through personal effort alone," he said.
"It may seem incredible today that the world record at this classic distance could be set by an amateur athlete, in bad weather, on a university running track.
"The many great milers whom I hope will be able to join me on 6 May demonstrate the lifelong satisfaction that such achievements bring."
Video:-
Sir Roger Bannister
"The secret was to do the three-quarter mile in three minutes"
news.bbc.co.uk/media/video/40120000/rm/_40120929_sport_bannister_nb_vi.ram
news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/athletics/3688893.stm