Roger Bannister

Sir

Roger Bannister

CH CBE FRCP

Bannister in 2009
Personal information
Full name	Roger Gilbert Bannister
Born	(1929-03-23)23 March 1929 Harrow, England[1]
Died	3 March 2018(2018-03-03) (aged 88) Oxford, England
Resting place	Wolvercote Cemetery, Oxford, England
Education	Exeter College, Oxford
Height	187 cm (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Weight	70 kg (154 lb)[1]
Master of Pembroke College, Oxford
In office 1985–1993
Preceded by	Geoffrey Arthur
Succeeded by	Robert Stevens
Sport
Country	Great Britain
Sport	Athletics/Track middle-distance running
Events	Mile 800 metres 1500 metres
Achievements and titles
Personal bests	Outdoor[2] 800 m: 1:50.7 (Brussels 1950) 1500 m: 3:43.8 (Bern 1954) Mile: 3:58.8 (Vancouver 1954)
Medal record Representing  England British Empire and Commonwealth Games 1954 Vancouver 1 mile Representing  Great Britain European Championships 1954 Bern 1500 m 1950 Brussels 800 m

Sir Roger Gilbert Bannister CH CBE FRCP (23 March 1929 – 3 March 2018) was an English neurologist and middle-distance athlete who ran the first sub-4-minute mile.

At the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Bannister set a British record in the 1500 metres and finished in fourth place. This achievement strengthened his resolve to become the first athlete to finish the mile run in under four minutes. He accomplished this feat on 6 May 1954 at Iffley Road track in Oxford, with Chris Chataway and Chris Brasher providing the pacing. When the announcer, Norris McWhirter, declared "The time was three...", the cheers of the crowd drowned out Bannister's exact time, which was 3 minutes and 59.4 seconds. He had attained this record with minimal training, while practising as a junior doctor. Bannister's record lasted just 46 days.

Bannister went on to become a neurologist and Master of Pembroke College, Oxford, before retiring in 1993. As Master of Pembroke, he was on the governing body of Abingdon School from 1986 to 1993.^[3] When asked whether the 4-minute mile was his proudest achievement, he said he felt prouder of his contribution to academic medicine through research into the responses of the nervous system. Bannister was patron of the MSA Trust. He was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2011.^[4]