In 2011, when Geoffrey Mutai of Kenya set the world (unrecognized) record in Boston of 2:03:02 and then broke the New York record at 2:05:06, thoughts of a marathon run under two hours have resurged. It nearly happened 57 years ago at the 1954 British Empire Games in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
In a sad and strange incident, Jim Peters, the top-drawer British marathoner, entered the stadium 15 minutes ahead of the closest contenders and was, despite running on an intensely hot day, on pace for a new world marathon record, and a possible, under-two-hours wonderwork.
Peters stumbled running down the ramp into the stadium, his legs failed, and he collapsed onto the track with one lap to go. Suffering from heat prostration, Peters tried to rise but couldn’t; it was a heartbreaking sight as he crawled piteously trying to finish the race. When he could no longer make forward progress, and as other runners passed him, attendants lifted Peters and carried him off the track.
You may have seen film of the legendary Roger Bannister-John Landy mile at the same 1954 British Empire Games. Bannister, a British medical student in his mid-twenties, had broken the long-standing and seemingly insurmountable four-minute-mile barrier earlier that year. Australian John Landy lowered the record a few months later. Now the first two sub-four-minute milers were matched in a dream contest.
Landy led by five-to-ten yards throughout most of the race. In the final turn, with the huge crowd rackety, Bannister kicked to move just behind Landy’s right shoulder. But he didn’t seem to be able to pass him on the outside. On the final straightaway, about 60 yards from the tape Landy was curious about where Bannister was, and he glanced over his left shoulder. Bannister passed him on the right.
The late peek slowed Landy enough to cost him a race that was billed as and has since become, largely because of Bannister’s breasted-at-the-tape triumph, the most important and talked-about mile event in track and field history. The “Mile of the Century” was also the first race in which two men ran the distance under four minutes. Bannister also secured the European title in the 1500- meter before retiring from competition.¹ He then went on to practice medicine and never ran another race.
http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/ban0bio-1, available as of 10/13/07