Sir Roger Bannister, who was the first person to achieve the ‘impossible’ by breaking the four minute mile, has died at the age of 88. We offer our sincere condolences to his family and all who knew him. Sir Roger was a descendant of the Bannisters of Park Hill and a great supporter of the Heritage Centre since its inception. We shall miss his enthusiastic support and encouragement.
His famous one mile run in 3 minutes 59.4 seconds took place at the Iffley Road Ground in Oxford on 6th May 1954. It was a true landmark of physical human achievement. He later became an important doctor and academic.
Here is a BBC interview Sir Roger gave four years ago on the 60th anniversary and a report the Washington Times illustrating his world wide recognition.
This is the film of Sir Roger’s famous run.
Here are some news reports of Sir Roger’s passing…