Roger Bannister ran the mile in 3 minutes 59.4 seconds at Oxford University's Iffley Road track. Doctors had said a sub-four-minute mile would cause the human heart to stop. He was a medical student who trained in 30-minute lunch breaks. The record stood for 46 days before John Landy broke it.
The most psychologically significant athletic barrier ever broken — proving that human limits are largely mental constructs.
Why It Matters