Sir Roger Bannister was the first man to run a mile in under four minutes. Up until he did it in 1954, most people thought the four-minute mark was impossible to break. They thought the human body couldn’t physically go that fast – that it would collapse under the pressure.
No-one could run a mile in less than four minutes.
It was impossible.
Roger Bannister had a talent for running and knuckled down to train. He decided to win a university scholarship – which he did. His hard work paid off – he won a track scholarship to Oxford University.
While he was at university, the press got wind of his talent. While he declined to compete in the 1948 Olympics, watching it inspired him to push forward & compete in the 1952 Olympics. At this point, expectations were high – Bannister expected to win the 1500 meters. Britain expected him to win. Everyone expected him to win. He came up empty handed.
In the 1940s, the record for running a mile had reached 4:01. But it hadn’t budged since. Some doctors and scientists said it was physically impossible to run a mile in less than four minutes. Not just hard, or dangerous, but impossible.
Bannister decided to do it – to run a mile in less than four minutes.
Bannister broke the record on May 6,1954 with a time of 3:59.4
Over the next few years, more and more people broke through the four-minute mark once they realized that yes, it was possible.
Once Bannister proved that it was possible to run a mile in under four minutes, suddenly everyone was able to do it – proving an important lesson: once you stop believing something is impossible, it becomes possible.
When no-one believed his goals were possible – he did. When he failed publicly, he picked himself up, and carried on. When his competitors were hot on his heels, he picked up his pace.
He took things into his own hands, and decided to tell a better story And in doing so – he did the impossible.
:Let my story and the story of countless others be am inspiration to you, nothing is impossible.
Comments