Bannister Landy Miracle Mile 1954
Вставка
- Опубліковано 7 лют 2025
- On 6th May 1954, Roger Bannister ran the first sub-4-minute mile at Iffley Road, Oxford. He held his world record for just six weeks before his great rival, John Landy of Australia, broke it by more than a second with a time of 3:58.0. The stage was now set for a dramatic showdown between the two runners in the final of the One Mile at the Empire Games in Vancouver on 7th August 1954.
This race proved to be probably the most exciting mile race ever run and is still known as the "Miracle Mile". A statue stands in Vancouver to commemorate its moment of highest drama, when John Landy looked back over his left shoulder just as Roger Bannister passed him on his right. Of that instant John Landy said, "When Lots wife looked back she was turned into a pillar of salt. When I looked back I was turned into a pillar of bronze!".
If you wish to see the pillar of bronze, see www.danielsacks...
Absolutely the greatest performance ever in competitive running, Bannister has always been a hero to me ever since I was a little boy of 8 years old in 1954 when he broke the 4 minute barrier, still a hero to me 67 years later.
I was six and watched in B&W Roger break the four-minute mile. Did you notice that there were no fat people in those days and kids ran for the sheer exhilaration it gave?
My hero also…I WAS THE TRACK STAR..IN HIGH SCHOOL 1973….AND IN THE ARMY….68 YEARS TODAY…STILL VERY HEALTHY PREACHING THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST JESUS….HEARTBEAT STILL 41 IN THE EARLY MORNINGS…48 AFTER A CUP OF COFFEE.GODSPEED DR.ROGER BANNISTER….MY FIRST TIME SEEING THIS RACE JULY 30TH 2024.DR.BRYANT LANE.
John Landy, complete class act. Listen to his speech at the end. Graciously accepts defeat. A lesson in sportsmanship.
Probably one of the most influential and inspiring moments in sports history...
@@ppuh6tfrz646 No probably about it.
@@garrettbischoff3817 I sometimes would talk about the race to my high school students. These two gentlemen were fine athletes with contrasting styles. Landy was the record holder, and the second man to break 4 minutes, but Bannister had the finishing kick that couldn't be denied.
Roger Bannister was a great miler and an even greater man...God bless him as he has passed on to The Big Race...
Couldn't help but notice how much mutual respect was voiced between these two great athletes. Hard to find that these days - it's normally about how great "I" am, without much regard for competitors.
They made no excuses, they had no complaints. They both just ran as hard as they could. I only wish
our presidential candidates would be as gracious after an election regardless of the outcome. However, after each there's a virtual never ending war.
You can blame american culture creep for that one OP
Without God we are nothing and can do nothing.
Each of them knew that without another runner in the race who could run at such an intense speed along with him, neither of them would run at such quick, record time. You push your body to a limit and that limit is set here by how fast your body needs to run to win. If Landy was not in the race, no record would have been set. That is almost a certainty, and you could tell Bannister felt that is the truth about this race and the record run.
Completely agree CY. From a better age. Bannister and Landy did not have to cultivate an antagonistic relationship in order to perform at their best.
Great race. Both competitors classy and humble. The world could use more of that today.
Great race, and gentlemen both. Says a lot about Bannister that he considered his contribution to medicine as the major achievement in his life. RIP Landy
Just finished reading The Perfect Mile which lead me to this video. What a championship race ! I was too young at the time to remember the race but I grew up in B.C. with the knowledge that something special happened at the 1954 Commonwealth Games . A great moment in sports history.
Love that book! What a race that must have been!
They were still called the British Empire Games in 1954.
Just finished the same book
which also led me here, the book really does a good job of describing the action :)
I like that ...I am with you
Bannister had a beautiful running motion.
As someone else has said in the comments, both are very humble in their interviews and had mutual respect for each other. What a great race.
me to:)
OMG, totally awesome! Isn't it wonderful that we have this to see and that someone posted it and that UA-cam exists! Thanks to all. What great athletes.
Would like to call out to Bill Baillie, who led the first lap. Wonderful internationalist. I, saw him in person, at the 1966 Kingston Empire Games, in the 10,000. What a fine runner. Good on you, Bill! Best of health!
I was born in 57. My Dad was a bit of a sports fan and had a big double album Greatest moments in sports. It had photos and descriptions of Bannister first breaking the 4 minute barrier event as well as other milestones in sports at that time
If you're watching this and you haven't yet read "The Perfect Mile" by Neal Bascomb, then you really owe it to yourself
Just finished my second readthrough in the last 6 years and it was just as good as I remember, if not better
Landy had a very recent 2" gash on the bottom of his foot from stepping barefoot on a glass flashbulb fragment the night before, yet he NEVER blamed his injury in any way or even allowed the information to become public knowledge. How hardcore is that??
Respect for both of them. Bannister with a cold and Landy with a gashed foot. True competitors, no excuses.
Two very gracious runners
I had the honour of training with Roger and Chris in the summer of 1953 at Iffly road Oxford, Roger said then that a 4 minute mile was within his grasp. Amazing experience for me then as a young teenager.
For some reason I cant remember meeting Landy
What a wonderful experience! You wouldn't have met Landy unless you were in Vancouver or Finland or Australia, at times when he happened to be in those places....
@@brian_sacks
Oh.! That explains it then. Thanks very much for that.
I lived in Banbury and I remember the cheap season ticked on the train to Oxford was two Shillings Seven half penny.
I was to meet Roger again at the Institute of Aviation Medicine Farnborough in 1955. When I met him in the corridor outside the Biophysics Laboratory where I worked as a RAF Senior Aircraftsman Wireless Technician. My job was to build an Integrator to measure the stresses in a pilots neck during high speed flight. I'm sure it could have been the forerunner of the ECG machines we have today.
Roger was of course a qualified Doctor & the Institute of Aviation Medicine was about research into the affects of G Forces on the the human body.
I worked in the same building that contained the Human Centrifuge.
After Farnborough I worked at the RAF Little Sai-wan, Spy Centre in Hong Kong. A wireless monitoring station.
What a race! But Mile of the Century? I'm inclined to say to think so, and I feel that the most impressive thing about the race is the way Roger clawed back John's lead during that difficult third lap, and even Landy mentioned that.
That was awesome. Today is the first time I've ever seen this race. Thank you Brian.
John Landy was by far the best athlete of my lifetime he was a true amature never gave excuses if he was beaten.Like so many sports today money has ruined them drug use is common & what was supposed to be sport has become a business.
Anyone complaining about Bannister collapsing hasn't run enough (or any) races to their absolute limit. Great runners expend their energy in such a way that it is completely exhausted by the finish line. Also, lactic acid is a powerful thing, and there's a ridiculous amount of it in one's system by the end of any race comparable to Bannister's. He was probably not acting.
Brooks Macdonald when I ran a 5:41 at the end, it had me dead af
@@ppuh6tfrz646, they didn't give it their all. Bannister was the first man to break the 4 and he did it as a "part" time runner while still in Medical School. If Bannister trained like elite milers today and didn't have to go to classes his endurance would be much different. Eliud Kipchoge did the same thing while running 2:00:23 for Nike's Breaking 2. Give everything you have in an athletic event and you'll collapse too. Kellen Winslow Sr. in the NFL was another example, he had to be carried by his teammates after the game.
@@ppuh6tfrz646 , it's obvious that you've never given it your all. Countless marathoners (even Eluid Kipochoge) have collapsed at the end of their race. Any Aerobic exercises can cause you to collapse at the end. For runners, it's called the Runner's Wall, where your body has built up so much lactic acid that it can't function normally anymore due to you using up all of your ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate). Your body needs to regenerate it's ATP reserve for you to move normally again.
@@ppuh6tfrz646, you're an idiot. Lookup how your body generates energy to move your muscles. You generate energy by converting ATP to ADP. You learn that in Biology 101. You've obviously never played any sports or taken a Biology class before. This is just going over your head. A quick Google search would've shown you that what I've said is true. I'm not name dropping anything.
@@ppuh6tfrz646, just cause dumbass doesn't understand science doesn't mean others don't. You have nothing to offer in this subject, anybody who listens to you is a fool and I'm no fool.
One race that more than lived up to the hype!
Awesome!!!!! I can never forget the statue outside of Empire Stadium when I very first saw it!!
As I watched the post-race interview with Bannister, I was reminded of the persistent soft cough I would experience every time I finished an especially quick race. It was an involuntary response by lungs taxed to the limit, not a faux cough .
That always happened to me after a hard -mile race. Not after an 880 or a 2-mile; only after the mile. It was strange but also satisfying, because it meant I'd run hard.
I get that too, although I've only been running a year. I thought there was something wrong with me lol.
@@blackie75 57 years and it still happens. I'm disgusting after a good race.
In his autobiography, Bannister says he picked up a bad cold right before the Games.
Great race, and these guys are true gentlemen as we see in the post race interviews.
athletes were real Gentleman back then look how humble in victory they was and how complimentary of their opponents in defeat.
with how much technology and sports science as moved if these guys were living a modern athletes lifestyle and racing today they would no doubt be up their around WR times
I remember watching this live on teleivision in Canada as a 10-year-old immigrant who had arrived from England the year before. The race was much anticipated, and since I was English, I dearly wanted Bannister to win and to reclaim his world record from Landy. At least he accomplished the win, although for a time it looked like Landy was running away with it. As usual, Bannister ran himself into exhaustion, but Landy looked like he could go another mile
In “The Four Minute Mile,” Bannister reveals he was fighting a cold that week. That’s why he was coughing after the race.
Incredible then and even now. thanks for posting
"Lot's wife looked backward, and she was turned into a pillar of salt. I looked backwards and was turned into a statue of bronze." John Landy, referring to the statue outside of the stadium commemorating the pivotal moment of the Miracle Mile
Good stuff! I would have loved to have visited Vancouver BC back then...(WA State resident)
RIP Sir Roger Bannister...
Roger bannister
Rest in Peace - Run like the wind forever
The crowd ,the rivalry, the historic races, this was the original , before the Coe overt global rivalry. That everyone talked about. And wanted to see. Landry was a brilliant runner condolences to his family and friends
wow that is really cool to hear their voices and how they sounded
That is amazing! He is an inspiration!
I just read The Perfect Mile... and this is definitely is the perfect mile.
Epic race!!!!
Nice to hear great athletes speaking with modesty and showing their opponents respect. Money, I guess, changed all that.
wes santee is a beast! a great great man...pray for him as he battles cancer
A very exciting race.
I love the video! And no stupid music that's so loud, you can't hear the commentary. I could still live without the music though.
All such "music" is stupid. It serves no purpose whatsoever, except to ruin the watching experience.
Today the 4th March 2018 (Sunday) Roger Banister passed away at the age of 88 from Parkinson's disease. Though he my be gone, his legend and spirit will live for a very long time. Though the 4 minute mile has been broken thousands of times now, Roger will always be the first beast to set the standard. RIP you athletic son of a bitch you 💪🏼
Rhys Nichols +
I was a "Mile Runner". Bannister has always been my inspiration my whole life. He's more then a legend. He's an ordinary man who gave his all.
B Adams
Nice, what was your best time?
Unpleasant comment about the doc's mater.
Rhys Nichols 👍
Sorry for my delay. I didn't know you had replied. Sorry.
My best time was 4:36 in High School. In college I did Triathlons. I wish now I had stayed with the mile. More experience, age, & growth would have helped a lot. A brain tumor & 4 invasive surgeries & an extremely painful condition as a result of the tumor have me grounded. Everything's normal till it's not. I still watch events intently though & still get excited. It never gets old.
Ivan Sanders
R Nichols comment "RIP you athletic son of a bitch you. 💪" is a very common phrase that's used when showing respect, compliment, & praise to someone for their excellence. Replace the word athletic with smart, strong, patient, wise, etc. I'd be honored if someone complimented me me that way. It's a term of endearment & friendship.
Sportsmanship that is rare. Good to see.
That was quite exciting to watch.
I would like to break a six minute mile, never mind a four. Make me appreciate these great athletes all the more.
Great seeing true respect and sportsmanship!
WOW! That was exciting. I think there is a movie based on this exciting event.
Awesome! Incredible! No words to said...
Great race...ahead of their time!
Amazing race, amazing win by Bannister. Must have been the first recorded time that two runners did sub-4 minute miles.
This is the first time anyone did a sub 4 minute mile tho
@@jakerussell135 Not so. Bannister had already broken the 4:00 mile run in England some time before this games.
@@r.crompton2286 my comment was 5 months old so I wasn't as experienced in running lore. This was June of 1954 iirc, the first sub-4 was April 6 I think
@@jakerussell135 Yes, the 4 minutes was broken in the Spring of '54 at Oxford. I was fortunate to have watched the Miracle Mile live on black and white TV (17 in. screen).during the August British Empire and Commonwealth Games.
I love the difference in accents!
Both magnanimous in victory or defeat, good sports.
This was a great race, but I really wish Santee had been able to run this race as well. That would've been an amazing battle.
Landy and Bannister - class acts.
It's easier to look to the left to the inside of the bend and see where the rest of the runners are, but in this case it cost him because Bannister was so close.
I have a private hand written letter from Bannister year 2000. Absolute gentleman.
Bannister must have been the miler in the greatest post-race distress. His hallmark was collapsing into the arms of his companions as soon as he reached the line.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone else do a crouching start like the guy on the left at the start of the mile !!! Would have been great if he’d sprinted all the way 😂😂😂
third lap has gotta have been hard
wow, great stuff
Imagine what Bannister might have running in something smaller than men's boxer shorts.
A great race between two outstanding runners.
Tremendous race
Watching this after watching the 1500 metre race at the Paris Olympics. Under 4 minutes seems slow now!
I have been to the stadium. It's a shame they tore out the track and replaced it with a jogging trail painted like a track. North America has a tradition of tearing out great track stadiums. St. Louis, Los Angeles twice (and they will do it again), Montreal and Atlanta. All Olympic tracks, gone.
These guys weren't nearly as well trained as today's runners. They had some training but then they ran themselves into the ground in races and were collapsing at the end. Today's runners look fresh after a WR run because their training is harder than their races. You have to admire how fast they ran on cinder with the level of preparation they had.
well I'm glad to hear that you have had success as a runner....I'm going to back down from this and just try and accept the fact that it was necessary for him to collapse. Good luck with your future runs
Yes I agree with you there. I don't know what bannister's training routine was but he was a part time athlete. If Coe had pushed himself to a comparable limit he would have run a 3.42 mile.
dude its like sprinting every dam lap. Very hard to do that i will tell you
Bannister always gave it his all.
Perfect race by Bannister - if only both Coe and Ovett had his racing inelligence to go with their talent. Landy's failure to widen the gap after 2 laps is fatal to his chances. From 600 out there is just one winner. Love the way Bannister collapses over the line, just as he did when he ran sub 4.
Roger Bannister, is my number one idol, no matter what, haha my life goal is to at least break 4 mins for my mile right now is at a sub five, (like 4:58ish) so my goal is to at leatst be as good as him
Read The Perfect Mile. Amazing book about the events leading up to this race and bannister's redemption from Helsinki. Bummer what happened to wes santee. Corrupt, AAU💩
just read this book. GOD I was so pissed every time the AAU was mentioned
Great book! Gosh, I miss the days when I followed running and knew all about the current world record holders!
jose2bee2 the book was ok.
Honestly if you ask me I think Wes Santee could've been the one
Yea, I wish Santee had been in the race.
so epic. Read "The Perfect Mile," if you haven't already. makes this video even better
Of course, the film reel is old, but did it seem like Landy had a herky-jerky running style?
Bannister runs so beautiful
yeah that book is awesome!
4min. - 4min.45...Emocionantes!
such class back then.
Extreme respect was shown from each runner towards each other. Landy was forced to lead the race and break the wind for Bannister who had a better kick. His only hope was that his pace would be fast enough to eliminate the extra energy Bannister would need to kick past him. Based on how exhausted Bannister was after the race I'd say he came as close as was humanely possible at this one and only strategy that he had to work with.
My take on this race is that both men were very close to each other in abilities save one, which was Bannister's kick. If this race had been run differently I believe Landy might well have won it. For example, each runner, without knowledge of the other's time, runs the mile all alone on the track. The weather is a factor and must be included in this race, meaning equal weather conditions. This takes away the unfair advantage Bannister had when Landy was forced to lead the race from start to finish breaking the wind resistance for Bannister so he didn't expend equal energy with Landy during the race.
Here you have one man, Bannister, born with a gift for kicking and because of that, he receives another gift, this one is unfair, from his competitor without that gift for kicking, in the form of less wind resistance on him during the race. Cheers
Sorry, but having a strong sprint finish is part of being an athlete, and something that other athletes have to deal with if they can run the same "raw" time - as with Bannister and Landy - due to having better stamina but less speed. It wasn't an "unfair" advantage for Bannister. RIP Landy
Who’s here from the flotrack pod?
Me! 😀👍🏻
It’s funny how history has a way of repeating itself - very similar to Sham & Secretariat at the 1973 Belmont.
Legend
Landy's numerous back glances cost him time.
He didn't slow down while doing it, so no.
The hardest way to run a middle-distance race is in the leading position.
@ Marilyn Yes. I remember hearing about the one glance, but I counted two. In Vancouver there is a sculture of the 2 to commemorate that race. It shows the two of them running neck and neck with Landy looking in the opposite direction to where Bannister was. There are many runners since that race that would have learned from this glance, I'm guessing.
Great race to watch none the less. It was very nice to hear the complimentary way that both men spoke of each other after the race. They were not just great athletes, but men of good character from what I can see.
Landy's last glance back (going into the home straightaway) probably cost him the race. He looked over his left shoulder, which was Bannister's cue to pass Landy. Landy was obviously surprised when he didn't see Bannister behind him, and most likely psychologically deflated when he turned his head back forward to see Bannister move ahead. I was going to also say that he should have been able to hear Bannister since he was so close, but it's likely that the sound of the stadium crowd prevented that.
This footage is striking in that it's better quality than some of what you see a decade later...much of the 60's races have an atrocious quality. Perhaps the 60's footage is on television tape, whereas this is from film.
Know what we see going on here after the race? A very gracious loser giving credit to the man who beat him. Donald Trump should take a lesson from John Landy here.
Clean athletes...right Coe!
It's crazy how now-a-days when runners finish they just trot along the track, in this race bannister collapses across the line
Please show the 1956 Olympic 1500 meters final. Thank you.
kieran maguire
True Gentlemen..True Class.
Landy glanced back. Never look to your past if focused on the present. Phil 3:12-14.
I view Jim Ryun as the greatest runner who ever walked the planet! Had
the 1964 Olympics been in 1965.. guess what? Gold medal for J.R. Had the 68 games been anywhere else than the ridicules choice of Mexico.. Guess what? Gold for Jim! Had he not been boxed in and not fallen in 1972 Games. Guess what? Chock up a gold for Mr Ryun! He probably would have been a favorite to win in 1976 Games also. He would of been at the
height of his form and only 29. That's 4 gold!! He wouldn't of been
discouraged by past events and may have gone on to win that fourth gold. That's right 4 gold medals and possibly more had he also concentrated on the 800 meters. I also believe that had Jim faced any of the current world record holders in the mile/1500 meters his fierce competitiveness would have allowed him to beat any of the records that exist today. This is how I regard Jim Ryun. Definite winner of at least 2 Gold medals and possibly 4 or more!! And did I mention he's a pretty humble and decent guy. A truly great sportsman of our time!
Unfortunately hypothetical gold medals don't count for much, as great a runner as Jim Ryun was.
People were different back then.
True inspiration, Les Brown brought me here :)
Bannister - Heaven bound
lol....I don't have the VO2 Max/genetic make up to run a sub 4...but if I did, I wouldn't collapse. The man who posted this video has explained bannisters situation more in depth to me and I'm trying to have an open mind about it...."I would like to see u run a sub 4 min mile and let's see if u don't collapse"....lol, I'll try and remind the thousands of runners who have broken 4 that they should have collapsed after doing so.
I once ran a sub 3 min km at the end of a Triathlon to pass another competitor and finish on the podium. I didn't collapse, I gave it all, but I then rested on the lawn
Its then also important to note that Landy was running with stitches on of his feet.
Lot of stupid comments. How would any of you know how it feels after a sub 4 minute mile?
The way they would collapse in those days!
How did you get the cbc video. I couldn't even find it on CBC's website.
I’m here bc of pastor Shaun
Old Dr. Bannister wants to get that smokers cough @5.40 sorted out.
IMO you don't get what this accomplishment meant in 1954. Egos weren't the same size then as they are now. And you don't get that a world class MALE athlete can collapse in the arms of a friend / mentor / supporter. Take off your blinders amigo.