Roger Bannister

After two years of intense training, Roger Bannister became the first

person to beat the four-minute mile and the most famous runner in the

world. It was an amazing achievement, but not his destiny; he was

already working on his next dream.

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Imagine setting a world record and becoming one of the most famous people in sports
history. Now imagine thinking “That’s not enough!” and setting out to become a
neurologist.
That’s the life story of Roger Bannister, the English runner who was the first person in
the world to run a mile in less than four minutes.
Roger didn’t set out to be a world-class runner. He never even tried long-distance running
until he was seventeen, but he immediately showed talent and Britain asked him to be on
their Olympic team in 1948. But Bannister wanted more time to practice, and waited four
years until the 1952 Olympics.
The result? Heartbreak! He finished in fourth place, just out of the medals. He seriously
thought about quitting running forever.
Instead, he took a deep breath and decided to go after a different dream - the four-minute
mile. It was a goal that top runners around the world had been edging closer and closer
to, but Roger Bannister determined to beat them all.
After two years of intense training, he was ready. At a track meet in 1954, Roger ran like
no other human being ever had. At the finish line, his time was half a second under four