A Rare Recording of Roger Bannister

Sir Roger Gilbert Bannister, born on March 23, 1929, is an English former athlete best known for being the first to run the mile in less than 4 minutes, remarkably while practicing as a junior doctor. This was finally achieved on May 6, 1954 at Iffley Road Track in Oxford, with Chris Chataway and Chris Brasher providing the pacing. The resulting time was 3 min 59.4 sec. Retiring from running shortly after, Bannister went on to become a distinguished neurologist and an important contributor to research into the human nervous system. The audio is Bannister's perspective on the famous race.