Sir Roger Bannister

Sir Roger Bannister remembered every detail of the race 64 years ago which made him a sporting icon. He remembered the train journey up from Paddington to Oxford that morning, the umming and ahing over whether to go ahead with his world-record attempt, the blustery conditions calming just in time for the race and the role his two pacemakers played in making him a national hero. The events took place at Oxford's Iffley Road track on May 6, 1954, when Bannister, 25, a British medical student, wrote his name into sporting folklore by running the first sub four-minute mile.