BBC Podcast on Eamonn Coghlan being the first man over 40 to break the 4 min mile

Back in 1994, Eamonn Coghlan became the first man aged over 40 to run a sub 4 minute mile.

A recent Sporting Witness podcast from the BBC World Service recounted that event.

You can hear it here... https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3csym6r

Roger Bannister...the first man to run a sub 4 min mile passes away aged 88

Roger Bannister, the first person to run a mile in under four minutes, has died at the age of 88. In May of 1954, he became the first man to break the 4 minute barrier for the mile with a time of three minutes 59.4 seconds.

A statement from his family said: "Sir Roger Bannister, died peacefully in Oxford on 3 March, aged 88, surrounded by his family who were as loved by him, as he was loved by them."



John Walshe of Ballycotton sent on the following article...


MILE CONNECTION

A low-key 10km road race in a small Irish village was the unlikely setting for a meeting between two people with historic miling connections, writes John Walshe

Ballyhooly in North Cork has, for the past number of years, staged an annual race in honour of its most famous son, Olympian John Hartnett.

Winner of the International (now World) Junior cross-country title in 1970, Hartnett went on to have a chequered career at Villanova University where he broke Ronnie Delany’s Irish mile record with a time of 3:54.7 in 1973.

The following year he set an Irish 1500m record of 3:38.1 as well as running 3:56.3 for the mile on grass at the Cork City Sports.

Now living in New Jersey, Hartnett was home to start this year’s race and present the prizes and in a unique coincidence he met up with Julius Bannister - grandson of Sir Roger Bannister - who was on holiday in the area.

In his first-ever road race,15-year-old Julius from Notting Hill recorded a time of 50:39 which won him the junior award.

Julian Bannister & John Hartnett

Links...
1) 6th May 2014...60th anniversary of the first sub 4 minute mile
2) Bannister recounts the first sub 4 minute mile...
3) Unique Meeting at Ballyhooly by John Walshe 

John Travers becomes the first Irish man to run a sub 4 min mile in Ireland

John Travers of Donore Harriers made a bit of athletics history last night when he became the first Irish man to run a sub 4 minute mile on an indoor track in Ireland. In the final event at the AIT International Grand Prix, the Donore Harriers athlete finished in 3rd place in a time of 3:59.40 for the mile.

While several Irish athletes have run sub 4 min miles indoors in the past, they were all overseas as the facilities weren't here in Ireland. Now, there are two world class indoor 200m tracks in the country...one in AIT Athlone and one in Abbotstown, Dublin.

#AITGrandPrix (Indoor) Men’s Mile 🇮🇪

🏆@RyanGregson25 3:57.86

🎤@WillDowningComm

📹 via @AthloneIT

// @melbtrackclub @AthsAust @spikesmag @runnerstribe pic.twitter.com/K9gHhQaljm

— Robbo 🎤🏃🏼‍♂️A214975 (@mrdaverobbo) February 22, 2018

6th May 2014...60th anniversary of the first sub 4 minute mile

On the 6th of May 1954, Roger Bannister broke the 4 minute mile for the very first time. Running on a cinder track in Oxford, it remains to this day one of the most iconic moments of athletics history.

Back in the early 50's, there were a number of middle distance runners who had ran close to the 4 minute barrier but many considered it impossible to break. In a subsequent interview, Bannister said..."There was no logic in my mind that if you can run a mile in 4 minutes, 1 and 2/5ths, you can't run it in 3:59. I knew enough medicine and physiology to know it wasn't a physical barrier, but I think it had become a psychological barrier."

As for the race itself.......Bannister had lined up English runners Chris Brasher and Chris Chataway as pacemakers. He tucked in behind Brasher, a steeplechaser, who ran the first lap in 58 seconds and the first half-mile in 1:58. Chataway moved to the front and took them through three laps in 3:01. Bannister would have to run the final lap in 59 seconds.

His long arms and legs pumping, his lungs gasping for oxygen, he surged in front of Chataway with about 300 yards to go. "I then went flat out for the finishing line, and just about managed to stagger over it," he said. "I couldn't stand at the end."

The chief timekeeper was Harold Abrahams, the 100-meter champion at the 1924 Paris Olympics whose story inspired the film "Chariots of Fire." He handed a piece of paper to Norris McWhirter, who announced the time: "3...". "That was when the crowd exploded and we didn't hear any more," Bannister said. "It didn't matter what the rest was."



The record didn't stand for long however. Six weeks later, John Landy of Australia ran 3:57.9 in Turku, Finland. The current record stands at 3:43.13, held by Morocco's Hicham El Guerrouj since 1999. Bannister would lower his own record to 3:58.8 in Vancouver in 1954.

To commemorate the 60th anniversary, Farranfore Maine-Valley AC are holding a series of one mile races on Tuesday evening the 6th of May 2014 in Farranfore, Co.Kerry. More info on the Running in Munster site.

Sean Tobin of Clonmel AC breaks 4 min mile

This piece of news was from last weekend, the 16th of February 2014. Sean Tobin of Clonmel AC became the 39th Irishman to break the 4 minute barrier for the mile. Competing at the Husky Classic in Seattle Washington for the University of Mississippi, Sean Tobin won section 4 of the mile in a time of 3:59.91.

Section  4 
  1 Tobin, Sean                  Mississippi            3:59.91 
  2 Poland, Ryan                 Portland               4:01.28 
  3 Greenwald, Jeremy            Georgia Tech           4:01.90 
  4 Clowes, Matthew              Concordia (O           4:03.78 
  5 Carr, Curtis                 BYU                    4:04.28 
  6 Warren, Trent                Unattached             4:04.43 
  7 Winn, Daniel                 Oregon                 4:04.44 
  8 Willyard, Brett              Oregon                 4:05.81 
  9 Tate, Mike                   Southern Uta           4:05.87 
 10 Perry, David                 Portland               4:05.97 
 11 Locklear, Jordan             California             4:06.27 
 12 Fauble, Scott                Portland               4:07.54 
 13 Fuller, Travis               BYU                    4:07.93 
 14 Bolin, Dominic               Unattached             4:11.72 
 15 Soucy, Drew                  Unattached             4:12.18  

Post race interview here (note that it's followed by an 11 minute advert. Press pause after the interview)

This is the race video. Sean runs behind the pace setter for the first two laps and goes through the half-way point in about 2:01. He then has to do an almost solo run to finish under 4 minutes. Impressive running.

Progression of the mile record...

Of all the world records, the sub 4 minute mile is possibly one of the most famous. This video clip shows how it has progressed over the years...


3:59.4...Roger Bannister     United Kingdom    6 May 1954 Oxford
3:58.0...John Landy     Australia    21 June 1954 Turku
3:57.2...Derek Ibbotson     United Kingdom    19 July 1957 London
3:54.5...Herb Elliott     Australia    6 August 1958 Santry, Dublin
3:54.4...Peter Snell     New Zealand    27 January 1962 Wanganui
3:54.1...Peter Snell     New Zealand    17 November 1964 Auckland
3:53.6...Michel Jazy     France    9 June 1965 Rennes
3:51.3...Jim Ryun     United States    17 July 1966 Berkeley, Cal.
3:51.1...Jim Ryun     United States    23 June 1967 Bakersfield, Cal.
3:51.0...Filbert Bayi     Tanzania    17 May 1975 Kingston
3:49.4...John Walker     New Zealand    12 August 1975 Göteborg
3:49.0...Sebastian Coe     United Kingdom    17 July 1979 Oslo
3:48.8...Steve Ovett     United Kingdom    1 July 1980 Oslo
3:48.53...Sebastian Coe     United Kingdom    19 August 1981 Zürich
3:48.40...Steve Ovett     United Kingdom    26 August 1981 Koblenz
3:47.33...Sebastian Coe     United Kingdom    28 August 1981 Bruxelles
3:46.32...Steve Cram     United Kingdom    27 July 1985 Oslo
3:44.39...Noureddine Morceli     Algeria    5 September 1993 Rieti
3:43.13...Hicham El Guerrouj     Morocco    7 July 1999 Rome

Bannister recounts the first sub 4 minute mile...

In a recent interview, 82-year-old Roger Bannister recounts the time back on the 6th of May 1954 when he ran 3:59.4 to break the four minute mile barrier for the first time. Running on a cinder track in Oxford, it remains to this day one of the most iconic moments of athletics history.

During the interview, Bannister said...."It's amazing that more people have climbed Mount Everest than have broken the 4-minute mile."

Back in the early 50's, there were a number of middle distance runners who had ran close to the 4 minute barrier. Bannister said..""There was no logic in my mind that if you can run a mile in 4 minutes, 1 and 2/5ths, you can't run it in 3:59. I knew enough medicine and physiology to know it wasn't a physical barrier, but I think it had become a psychological barrier."

As for the race itself.......
Bannister had lined up English runners Chris Brasher and Chris Chataway as pacemakers. He tucked in behind Brasher, a steeplechaser, who ran the first lap in 58 seconds and the first half-mile in 1:58. Chataway moved to the front and took them through three laps in 3:01. Bannister would have to run the final lap in 59 seconds.

His long arms and legs pumping, his lungs gasping for oxygen, he surged in front of Chataway with about 300 yards to go. "I then went flat out for the finishing line, and just about managed to stagger over it," he said. "I couldn't stand at the end."

The chief timekeeper was Harold Abrahams, the 100-meter champion at the 1924 Paris Olympics whose story inspired the film "Chariots of Fire." He handed a piece of paper to Norris McWhirter, who announced the time: "3...". "That was when the crowd exploded and we didn't hear any more," Bannister said. "It didn't matter what the rest was."

The record didn't stand for long. Six weeks later, John Landy of Australia ran 3:57.9 in Turku, Finland. (The current record stands at 3:43.13, held by Morocco's Hicham El Guerrouj since 1999.). Bannister would lower his own record to 3:58.8 in Vancouver in 1954.

The full article can be seen HERE

David McCarthy and John Coghlan go sub 4 in the US

David McCarthy from Waterford won a mile race in the US this evening with a time of 3:55.75. Also running sub 4 was John Coghlan from Dublin. (McCarthy is in black and white, Coghlan is in blue)


Watch more videos on Flotrack

2012 BU Terrier Invitational - 28th Jan - Boston University - Boston, MA                
 Men 1 Mile Run
===============================================================
    Name                    Year Team                    Finals
===============================================================
Section  1                                                    
  1 McCarthy, David              Providence             3:55.75
  2 Ritchie, Tim                 Baa                    3:58.49
  3 Coghlan, John                Unattached             3:59.32
  4 Gonzalez, Christian          Nj-Ny Track Club       3:59.98
  5 Matthews, Julian             Providence             4:02.08
  6 Bleday, John                 Dartmouth              4:04.02
  7 Jamieson, Carlos             Cptc New Balance       4:04.05
  8 Paulson, Matt                Boston U.              4:06.05

Post race interview with David McCarthy HERE
...and John Coghlan HERE

Postscript.......Ian O'Riordan has an interesting piece in the Irish Times about how Eamonn and John Coghlan are the first Irish father-son combination to crack the 4 minute mile barrier, and become the second of only two in the world to do so. Eamonn Coghlan first broke four minutes when he was 22, John Coghlan is now 23 so he still has his whole athletics career ahead of him.

Amazingly, Eamonn Coghlan has run 83 sub-four minute miles, including a 3:49.78 – the second fastest indoors of all time – plus the only sub-four ever by an over 40-year-old.

The full article is HERE