‘Time’ magazine called it the greatest mile race of all time.ģyrs later in Berlin, he took the Olympic gold medal in the 1500m. He smashed the WR by 1.6secs lowering it to 4:07.6. Jack shortened his stride, picked up his cadence and hit the line 7 strides ahead of Bonthron. Slight New Zealander, JACK LOVELOCK (b1910) (61kgs,169cms tall), a Rhodes scholar at Oxford university, was representing the Oxford-Cambridge team against Princeton-Cornell in July 1933.īonthron of the home university team had won the US intercollegiate 800m and 1500m races and, behind a fast pace, he pulled away with 300yds to go. The next 2 WR times were both achieved at Princeton university, New Jersey. At the bell Jules was a second over Nurmi’s time, but he accelerated to come home in a time of 4:09.2. In 1931 a nervous Frenchman, JULES LADOUMEGUE (b1906), who could not eat on the day of the attempt in Paris, actually false-started. In the 1930s, as fascism spread across Europe, 4 men held the Mile WR, which fell by 4secs. He retired after a 14yr career in athletics, becoming a successful builder, although he did admit that he should have done more speedwork! Jules Ladoumegue He ran each of the first 3 laps in 63secs, finishing with a 61.4 last lap to clock a new WR time of 4:10.4. On the eve of his WR run in Stockholm in August 1923, Paavo predicted a time of 4:10. He ran with a stop-watch and his innovations included running in iron-clad boots. These words encapsulate the “even pace” strategy of the legendary PAAVO NURMI (b1897), the Flying Finn, the most famous athlete of the 1920s, who amassed 9 golds and 3 silvers in 3 Olympic Games. Others can’t hold the pace if it is steady and hard all the way through to the tape.” “When you race against time, you don’t have to sprint. In 1915, as zeppelins were dropping bombs on London, NORMAN TABER (b1891) from Brown university, benefiting from a 6 month period of specific mile training, used 3 pace-setters on handicaps to achieve a new genuine WR of 4:12.6 on the same fast Harvard track at Allston, Massachusetts. The following year JOHN PAUL JONES (b1890) from Cornell university set the first IAAF-ratified mile WR of 4:14.4, slower than George’s time. In 1912 the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) was established by 17 nations in Stockholm partly to ratify WRs. The Proving ground ©Ehimetalor Akhere Unuabona John Paul Jones Walter even raced in the USA against their top miler.Īfter one close race both men collapsed unconscious! He was an advocate of on-the-spot training, his 100-Up routine, which focused on high knee lifts and springs, and he liked to finish with a brine bath. In 1886, in front of a crowd of 20,000 at Lillie Bridge in west London, WALTER GEORGE (b1858) from Wiltshire set a mile time of 4:12 ¾, which stood for 29yrs. Welcome to the definitive history of the 4 minute mile and beyond. In the C17th the aristocracy used to race their footmen in foot races! Mile racing in C18th and C19th became so popular with gamblers that runners turned professional. This conversion was recognised by the parliament of Elizabeth I in 1593. In Britain, the 220yard furlong, still used in horse racing today, was co-opted to give 8 furlongs to the mile ie 8x220yds = 1 mile = 4 x 440yds (4 laps of the track) = 1609metres. The Roman legions marched many “mille passus” 1000 paces, which became the mile. The USA has always embraced the distance and can point to 4 WR times, one by the teenage prodigy, Jim Ryun. This article tells the full story of the journey to break the barrier of the 4 minute mile, a feat once thought impossible, and what followed subsequently in the field of athletic achievement. London holds the Emsley Carr mile and Oslo boasts the Bislett Games with its iconic Dream Mile, which has produced 3 WR times, all by British runners. The magic of the 4 minute mile! In a metric athletics world the mile is still raced, despite not being an Olympic distance.
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