Monday, April 12, 2010

April 12 Birthdays

1930
John Landy, Australian middle-distance runner. Landy was the second man to break 4:00 in the mile and held the world record in the mile (3:58.0). He was a member of the Australian Olympic team in 1952 (Helsinki) and 1956 (Melbourne), winning a bronze medal in the 1500 in 1956. He finished second to Roger Bannister in the Empire Games mile in Vancouver on 7 August 1954, the first mile race in which two athletes broke 4:00 (Bannister 3:58.8, Landy 3:59.6).

1 comment:

  1. It was an exciting time back in the early 50's when a handful of guys were chasing the 4 minute barrier. The buzz was worthy enough at the time to warrant coverage in Time magazine.

    http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,889658,00.html

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