However, the achievements on the track paled into insignificance for him when he finally fulfilled his ambition and qualified as a doctor.
“You don’t have to make the rest of your life boring to be a good runner,” he said.
Within 10 years, he was established in his profession as a consultant physician, going on to become a leading neurologist, and later the Master of Pembroke College, Oxford.
Although a motoring accident later caused a broken ankle that put paid to Bannister’s leisure running, he forever associated himself with the sport.
He became the first chairman of the Sports Council in 1971 and, during his tenure, he led a crusade on drug-testing in athletics. He was knighted in 1975 and made a Companion of Honour in the 2017 New Year’s Honours.
For Bannister, the challenge of the four-minute mile was only ever a psychological barrier, not a physical one and he always maintained that his achievements as a neurologist far outshone his time on the track.
But for most, the image of Bannister will forever be the long-limbed athlete, with his head thrown back, breaking the tape on a blustery May evening in 1954.
