“Goodbye” Roger Bannister Died 3 March 2018

Sir Roger Gilbert Bannister, CBE (born 23 March 1929 died 3 March 2018) was an English former athlete best known for running the first mile in less than 4 minutes.

This was  achieved on May 6th 1954 at Iffley Road Track in Oxford, with Chris Chataway and Chris Brasher providing the pacing. When the announcer declared “The time was three…”, the cheers of the crowd drowned-out the details of the result, which was 3 min 59.4 sec.

However, the record only lasted 46 days. He had reached this goal with little training, while practising as a junior doctor.

Bannister went on to become a distinguished neurologist and Master of Pembroke College, Oxford, before retiring in 1993.