Up until this day in 1954, it was the common belief that running a full mile in under 4 minutes was almost impossible to do and that it would result in significant danger to someone’s health. Bannister was a 25 year old student at Oxford University and regarded as the best middle-distance runner in Britain. Going into his historic race, he was coming off of a disappointing performance in the 1500m at the 1952 Olympics. With the help of his pacemakers and friends, Chris Chataway and Chris Brasher, Bannister came through the halfway point right on pace at 1 minute and 58 seconds. Drafting behind Chataway on the final two laps, Bannister began to pick it up and speed past Chataway on the final turn and history was made.

After Bannister did what was thought to be impossible, a major mental barrier was broken in the sport of running. The record has been beaten by 16 seconds since, standing at 3:43, a feat accomplished by Hicham El Guerrouj in 1999.