11/21/24
May 05, 2004
50 years ago Roger Bannister ran the first four minute mile. Whilst there's some debate about whether it was done 200 years earlier. It's been hailed, for good or bad, as the end of amateur atheletics.
The final article was written by Pat Butcher. What next? A cynical glance at the pole vault by Pauline Fowler? If you're interested in the four minute mile, keep an eye on SpoFi for the next couple of days for some exciting guerilla re-enactment stories. Good point gspm - those Keystone Cops would have made a hell of a relay team.
posted by JJ at 10:06 AM on May 05, 2004
There's nothing wrong with peers agreeing to pace one another, as long as everyone is trying to win. Paid pacemakers are ruining athletics, because they are effectively being paid to lose. How can this be ethical competition? Oops, there goes the Tour de France... (Yes, I know "athletics" means track & field.) Moreover, if we're to concern ourselves with ethics in sport, I think one of the last things to worry about is "pacemaking" -- e.g. how about the laundry list of "supplements" that no one is using (wink wink)?
posted by molafson at 04:01 PM on May 05, 2004
And just down the road from where I live. Roger Bannister quit athletics to become a heart surgeon soon after running his 4 minute mile. How things have changed.
posted by salmacis at 04:18 PM on May 05, 2004
a 4 minute mile 200 years ago? Sheesh, that is hardly surprising. Have you ever watched old film footage seen how fast people used to be able to run?