The mile record had stood at 4:01.4, set by Sweden's Gunder Hägg in 1945, and Bannister had come close himself the year before. He trained around his studies at St Mary's Hospital in London and ran on May 6 for the Amateur Athletic Association in a meet against Oxford University. His friends Chris Brasher and Chris Chataway, who had paced his 1953 attempts, shared the pacing, and about 3,000 spectators watched him cross the line in 3:59.4.
Bannister was 25 and still a medical student. It was a small dual meet, with seven men entered in the mile: three from Oxford University and four for the AAA, among them Bannister and his two pacemakers. Brasher and Chataway took turns setting the pace, and Bannister made his finishing kick on the last lap.
The announcer, Norris McWhirter, drew out the result: "The time was three...", and the rest was lost in the cheering of the crowd.
The record lasted just 46 days before Australia's John Landy ran 3:57.9 in Turku, Finland. That August the two met at the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Vancouver, where both broke four minutes and Bannister won in 3:58.8, passing Landy just as the Australian glanced over his left shoulder. Bannister went on to become a distinguished neurologist and Master of Pembroke College, Oxford, and a blue plaque at the Iffley Road track now marks the run.
Key people: Roger Bannister, Chris Brasher, Chris Chataway