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Athletics at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games – Men's 1 mile

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Men's 1 mile
at the Commonwealth Games

The men's 1 mile event at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games was held on 6 and 7 August at the Empire Stadium in Vancouver, Canada.[1]

The final race – dubbed The Miracle Mile – represented a landmark in the history of the Four-minute mile. Roger Bannister had been the first to have broken the barrier earlier that year, but John Landy followed soon after with sub-4 minute (and world record time of 3:58.0) of his own. The games offered the first time that two sub-4 minute runners had duelled against each other. Landy led until the final curve, at which point he turned left to gauge Bannister's position. Bannister took the opportunity to overtake him on his blind side and he edged out a victory over Landy with a time of 3:58.8 minutes. Landy also ran under four minutes, representing the first time two men had done so in the same race.[2] A sculpture of the race-deciding moment was later placed outside the stadium in memory of the duel.

Medalists

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Gold Silver Bronze
Roger Bannister
 England
John Landy
 Australia
Rich Ferguson
 Canada

Results

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Heats

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A sculpture commemorating the Miracle mile

Qualification: First 4 in each heat (Q) qualify directly for the final.[3]

Rank Heat Name Nationality Time Notes
1 1 Murray Halberg  New Zealand 4:07.4 Q, GR
2 1 Rich Ferguson  Canada 4:07.8 Q
3 1 Roger Bannister  England 4:08.4 Q
4 1 David Law  England 4:08.6 Q
5 1 John Disley  Wales 4:09.0
6 1 Don MacMillan  Australia 4:11.6
7 1 John Moule  Canada 4:17.2
1 Edwin Warren  Australia DNF
1 James Daly  New Zealand DNF
1 2 Bill Baillie  New Zealand 4:11.4 Q
2 2 Victor Milligan  Northern Ireland 4:11.4 Q
3 2 John Landy  Australia 4:11.4 Q
4 2 Ian Boyd  England 4:11.6 Q
5 2 Bill Parnell  Canada 4:13.8
6 2 Chris Brasher  England 4:15.4
7 2 Edward Morton  Canada 4:23.2
2 Jim Bailey  Australia DNS

Final

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[4][5]

Rank Name Nationality Time Notes
1st place, gold medalist(s) Roger Bannister  England 3:58.8 GR
2nd place, silver medalist(s) John Landy  Australia 3:59.6
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Rich Ferguson  Canada 4:04.6
4 Victor Milligan  Northern Ireland 4:05.0
5 Murray Halberg  New Zealand 4:07.2
6 Ian Boyd  England 4:07.2
7 Bill Baillie  New Zealand 4:11.0
David Law  England DNF

References

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  1. ^ "Results". thecgf.com. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  2. ^ Bryant, John (2005). 3:59.4: The Quest to Break the Four Minute Mile. Arrow Books Ltd. ISBN 978-0-09-946908-7.
  3. ^ "Wilmshurst's long jump record". The Manchester Guardian. 7 August 1954. p. 2. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  4. ^ "Final results". The Manchester Guardian. 9 August 1954. p. 6. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  5. ^ "Final results". The Sydney Morning Herald. 9 August 1954. p. 9. Retrieved 27 September 2020.