Roger Bannister became the first man to run a 4 minute mile.

"I knew I was very close. I did collapse at the end. If you don't keep on running, keep your blood circulating,.. the muscles stop pumping the blood back, and you get dizzy. I did lose my sight for a bit because I was crowded in. Everybody rushed on to the track."

In 1954 a young medical student made headlines around the world with one of the landmark events of 20th century sports history. At the time, it was thought to be impossible for a human being to run a mile in under four minutes. The world record of 4:01.3 had stood for nine years, and experts regarded this time as an insurmountable human limitation.

Roger Bannister thought otherwise. He had already won the British championship in the event, and he applied his scientific training and medical knowledge to smashing the four-minute barrier. On May 6, 1954, he set a new world record, running the mile in 3:59.4 while fighting a 15 mile-per-hour crosswind.

The current world record in the mile is 3:43.13, set by Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco on July 7, 1999.

Hundreds of men have achieved a time less than 4 minutes since the barrier was broken.