11. On May 6, 1954 at Oxford University's Iffley Road Track, Roger Bannister became the first person in the world to break what sporting barrier?
From Quiz Joyful and Triumphant
Answer:
The four-minute mile
Conventional wisdom of the time dictated that running a mile under four minutes was a physical impossibility. The four-minute milestone had become something of a psychological obstacle - many had tried to overcome it for years and several had come close, but even the most recent world record at the time had endured for almost a decade. By the 1950s, a few athletes had set their sights on breaking the elusive barrier. Among them were American Wes Santee and Australian John Landy, but it was a 25-year-old Oxford medical student who was destined to make history. Spurred on by his failure to secure a medal in the 1,500 m event at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Bannister trained while juggling his work at St. Mary's Hospital Medical School in London to become the first person to run a sub-four minute mile. When his final time of 3 minutes 59.4 seconds was announced at the end of the race, the roar of the crowd at Iffley Road drowned out everything around them. As "The Times" reported the next day, "There was a scene of the wildest excitement - and what miserable spectators they would have been if they had not waved their programmes, shouted, even jumped in the air a little." Even though his world record only stood for 46 days, it still represents an important reminder of the strength of the human spirit. As Bannister once said, "I think it foolhardy to predict the absolute limits of human endeavor."
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