His name was Sir Roger Bannister, a 25 year old English doctor and an athlete.
On 6th May 1954, he ran a mile in 3 minutes 59.4 seconds, making him the first man to beat the four minute barrier.
But the following month on 21st June, his rival runner, Australian John Landy, bettered the Iffley Road record with a time of 3 minutes 57.9 seconds, but Bannister will always be remembered as the man who ran the “miracle mile”.
The current fastest mile record is held by Moroccan Hicham El Guerrouj, who ran a time of 3 minutes 43.13 seconds in Rome, Italy, on 7 July 1999.
Svetlana Masterkova holds the women’s record of 4 minutes 12.56 seconds.