R.I.P. Roger Bannister

The first man to run a mile in less than 4 minutes has died at age 88. He might not be a household name for younger people today, but he was quite a remarkable man:

http://www.bbc.com/sport/athletics/43273249

caw

konstantineblacke said:

Was he the one the movie "Chariots of Fire" was based on?

Click to expand...

No. Bannister broke the 4-minute "barrier" in 1954. The movie Chariots of Fire was based on the story of two British sprinters competing for the Olympic games in the 1920s/1930s (I forget the exact date). But it was a very good and true-to-the-facts biopic.

One thing both the story of the movie and the story of Bannister have in common, though, is the strict amateurism involved in the athletic competitions, something utterly gone from any level of sport competition today. You may recall that one of the sprinters in the movie had a problem because he engaged a coach to help him train. He also had a problem because he was Jewish, another theme in the movie.

caw