History+Detective+TC

**__"Athletics is a luxury"__ ﻿ ** The fastest mile time in history for the day. Roger Bannister was the inspiration to many athletes all around the world. This young college student set the record at 3 minutes and 59.4 seconds. None matched this competitor by the end of the race. Roger trained as an athlete his whole life. This was his dream, to be a part of history. From his life before the race, his training for the race, and his life after the race. A British athlete setting the mile time which would later become known as "The Miracle Mile." Bannister was born in the little town of Middlesex, England on March 23, 1929. His family was poor and couldn't afford his college. But he had a great back up plan. Roger was a tremendous athlete. He was involved in many sports, his favorite was track. He was awarded a scholarship for track to Oxford university. His family was supportive the whole way. Even though his mom realized his potential and told him differently. " Even when I was about to break a world record and become well known, my mother used to say that for her, the most important thing was to become a doctor- a career which had not been possible in her generation and her society. Sport was something to be set aside." Roger tells interviewers. He listened to his mother, but also pursued his dream. He was studying in the field of medicine to become a consultant neurologist. He kept running and soon came the opportunity that would make history. Oxfor University was a major college. Many opportunities and temptations were in the way, but Roger kept pursuing his dream. He focused mainly on his studies. He declined many runs in oder to concentrate on his medical studies. Press scorned him for declining a 1500 meter run at the 1948 olympics. Even more so, however, when he finished fourth at the 1952 Olympics.So he decided to keep to his track and field and to break it's most famous barrier. The four minute mile. He trained hard for it and soon came the day on May 6, 1954. It was the annual match at Iffley Road Track at Oxford University. Three runners were the pacers of the match. Bannister in the middle. "You get very tired adb there was a certain amount of pain and you slow up. You're legs are so tired taht you are in fact slowing. If you don't keep running, keep your blood circulating, the muscles stop pumping the blood back and you get dizzy." A close race to the end and the victor was Bannister. He fulfilled his dream and broke the world record. He became extremely well known after that. Media and press swarmed Bannister after the race. Bannister said of his talent on the track, "I believe that as i grew up through adolescence, this capacity to run without pain or discomfort bacame a part of me, and it found uts expression in runningin cross country races, walking, and, eventually this became a track event with more and more people watching and people concerned with stopwatches." Roger finished college with a medical degree and became a practicing neurologist and neuroscience researcher. He was even knighted in 1975, Sir Roger Bannister served as director of the National Hospital for Nervous Diseases in London. He kept up in being athletic and staying fit until 1975 when he broke his ankle in a car accident. Roger Bannister, the man who ran "The Miracle Mile." His life befor, during, and after the race proves this man to be an important part fo history. Running a four minute mile is no easy thing, and Bannister kept working hard to prove that he could do it. There is now a plaque in Bannister's name at Iffley Road Track
 * Roger Bannister **