Roger Bannister is dead

[malaise]

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-11764114
<snip>
Roger Bannister, who has died at the age of 88, was the first man to run a mile in under four minutes.
Sir Roger, who was knighted in 1975, had been suffering from Parkinson's disease since 2011.

The record time in Oxford established him as one of the great names of British athletics.

In an age of the gentleman amateur, Bannister saw his running as something to be done in his spare time.

He once wrote that the ideal athlete was one who enjoyed a few drinks and even the odd cigarette.

Roger Gilbert Bannister was born on 23 March 1929 in Harrow, Middlesex.

[CentralMass]

1. What an amazing man.

I

[malaise]

2. Indeed

A genuine great

[underpants]

3. First recorded 4 minute mile

Just saying.

[malaise]

4. That was stunning back then

Just saying

[johnp3907]

5. We cant tell that to Roger Bannister anymore!

This was the first time I heard his name;

[malaise]

6. LOL

Nice

[MineralMan]

7. May, 1954. I was only 9 years old, but I remember

that record-setting run. It was mentioned on the TV news and I read more about it in the newspaper, later.

It was a huge story of an individual breaking a major athletic record. It captured the imagination of the world.

Simpler times, those were.

[Awsi Dooger]

8. I saw the tribute today during the world indoor track championships

I hadn't heart the news until they interrupted the meet for the video tribute.

My dad told me in great detail about the race to break 4 minutes...how closely it was followed.

Good thing Bannister wasn't disqualified for some minuscule violation during that historic race. That was the trend during the recently completed indoor championships. It went well beyond absurdity. You couldn't take any race result at face value because more often than not somebody would be disqualified a few minutes later. In one qualifying heat of the men's 400 all 5 competitors were disqualified.

[malaise]

9. Seriously have you ever seen so many disqualifications

[Demovictory9]

10. rip