In occasione della BUPA Westimenter Mile che andrà in scena a Londra il prossimo 25 maggio 2014, alla vigilia avrà luogo la Prima mondiale del film documentario realizzato dal cineasta statunitense ed ex-maratoneta Tom Ratcliffe sulla storia di Roger Bannister e sulla sua storica impresa di correre il miglio sotto i 4', cosa che sino a quel momento era stata ritenuta impossibile e sovrumana.
Ciò accadde 60 anni fa, il 6 maggio del 1954: fuun record che resistette soltanto 46 giorni ma tanto basto per dare a bannister un'imperitura fama e per essere ricordato negli annali della storia dell'Atletica: ed è proprio in occasione della ricorrenza del 60° anniversario e in concomitanza con la rinomata gara londinese sulla distanza del miglio che avrà luogo la prima proiezione mondiale del film.
Sarà per questo un degno scenario e una straordinaria occasione per celebrare quella memorabile impresa che scrisse un capitolo indlebile nella storia dell'Atletica britannica e mondiale.
Il fine settimana del 24-25 maggio a Londra sarà fitto di eventi. Il 24 avranno le gare sulla distanza del Miglio, comprese quelle giovanili che saranno animate dalla presenza di Mo Farah e di quelle riservate agli uomini e alle donne su wheelchair tra i quali sarà presente David Weir, tre volte campione britannico di Maratona in wheelchair..
Alla chiusura delle iscrizioni erano ben 3869: e Sir Roger Bannister sarà presente a dare il via a tutte e trenta le batterie in cui sono stati suddivisi i partenti.
La gara clou, ovviamente è quella riservata ai runner Elite, uomini e donne, che avranno luogo rispettivamente alle 15.25 e alle 15.30, valevole come Campionato Britannico maschile e femminile U20 nella distanza del Miglio.
La domenica invece si disputerà, sullo stesso circuito che è della lunghezza esatta di un miglio, la BUPA Westimenter 10m, anche questa gara popolarissima e che avrà migliaia di partenti.
The world premiere of a new documentary about Roger Bannister’s historic first sub-four-minute mile will form part of the official 60th anniversary celebrations at the Bupa Westminster Mile on Saturday 24 May.
The documentary has been made by US filmmakers Tom Ratcliffe, former international marathon runner and TV analyst, and Jeremy Mosher, television producer and university runner. It will be shown on the big screen in Green Park.
“Sixty years ago, wartime rationing was still in place, morale was low and Britain was struggling to emerge from the darkness of the war years,” said Ratcliffe. “Then in 1953 came the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on the same morning as the news broke that Edmund Hillary had conquered Everest. Against this backdrop, a young Oxford medical student made plans to become the first man to run a mile in less than four minutes, a feat long assumed to be physically impossible. Our film, Bannister: Everest on the Track, explores this extraordinary moment in history. Aided by a unique team, Bannister led the way into a new era in athletic achievement, at a time when his country needed it most. To date, fewer people have run a sub-four-minute mile than have climbed the world’s highest peak”.
A preview of the documentary can be seen here.
Roger Bannister, patron of the event, will be present to watch the runners compete in 30 different races over the mile distance in the Royal Parks.
At the close of entries, 5,869 runners had registered.
Six-time London Marathon champion David Weir aims to become the first wheelchair racer in history to break the three-minute barrier for the iconic distance.
“It was an inspiration to meet Sir Roger at the launch of this event a few weeks ago,” said Weir. “It would be incredible to become the first athlete to go sub-three when he’s watching”.
Sir Roger will present the new Sir Roger Bannister Trophy to the winner of the senior men’s race where Britain’s most experienced international miler, Andrew Baddeley, will be the man to beat. Baddeley, an Olympic and World Championship finalist at 1500m, is a former winner of the Dream Mile at the Bislett Games in Oslo, where so many world records have been broken in the past. He faces Chris Warburton, who was third in the inaugural Bupa Westminster Mile in 2013, and James Shane who was fifth – two of the seven athletes from last year’s top 10 who are competing again in 2014.
Diane Leather (now Charles), the first woman to run a sub-five-minute mile – also 60 years ago – will present the Diane Leather Trophy to the winner of the senior women’s race. This features a formidable line-up including World Championship 1500m medallist Lisa Dobriskey, who was runner-up last year; former world junior 1500m champion Steph Twell, fourth in 2013; former UK 1500m champion Charlene Thomas, who was fifth last year; and Julia Bleasdale, an Olympic finalist at 5000m and 10,000m in 2012.
Double Olympic and world champion Mo Farah will officially start the senior men’s and women’s races and later run alongside Britain’s future stars in the Boys’ U11 and U13 London Borough Challenge races at 14.05.
“This is set to be the world’s greatest one-day festival of mile racing,” said Event Director Hugh Brasher. “It is a very fitting tribute to Sir Roger, one of the great legends of world sport. The Mile is an iconic distance and is both inspirational to and understood by the younger generation as it is revered by those who watched Sir Roger sixty years ago”.
The races will begin on The Mall in St James’s Park and then follow the park’s perimeter via Horse Guards Road and Birdcage Walk to finish on Spur Road in front of Buckingham Palace.
The Bupa Westminster Mile races begin at 09:30 on Saturday 24 May and continue throughout the day until the final event, the British Athletics Men’s and Women’s U20 One-Mile Road Championships at 15:15 and 15:20 respectively.
Weir’s attempt to make wheelchair racing history in the mile is scheduled for 13:20.
The Bupa Westminster Mile is staged in partnership with Westminster City Council as part of Westminster’s commitment to encourage more people to take up sport and be more physically active.
It is the first part of a packed weekend of road running in the capital.
The programme continues on Sunday morning (25 May) with the seventh edition of the Bupa London 10,000, starting at 10.00.
Il sito web del BUPA Westiminster MIle and 10m
Ecco il filmato dell'epoca con la registrazione della storica impresa (il 6 giugno del 1954)
On 6th May 1954, Roger Bannister ran the first sub-4-minute mile at Iffley Road, Oxford. He held his world record for just six weeks before his great rival, John Landy of Australia, broke it by more than a second with a time of 3:58.0. The stage was now set for a dramatic showdown between the two runners in the final of the One Mile at the Empire Games in Vancouver on 7th August 1954.
This race proved to be probably the most exciting mile race ever run and is still known as the "Miracle Mile". A statue stands in Vancouver to commemorate its moment of highest drama, when John Landy looked back over his left shoulder just as Roger Bannister passed him on his right. Of that instant John Landy said, "When Lots wife looked back she was turned into a pillar of salt. When I looked back I was turned into a pillar of bronze!".
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