The Truth, Just for the Record; Doug Gillon On the Scots Hero Who Helped Break the Four-Minute Mile
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Summary
AS he cycles along the banks of the Rhone, with his two labradors, the Scot whose athletics feats were once airbrushed from history is finally content in retirement. Alan Duncan Gordon's Scottish records have been recognised, and his role in the most famous race in history is at last secure. On Thursday he will will be one of the privileged group to join Sir Roger Bannister at a private dinner in Oxford to mark the 50th anniversary of arguably the most iconic sporting moment of the twentieth century, the breaking of the four-minute barrier for the mile.
It ranked with the first ascent of Everest in pushing back perceived limits of human endeavour, yet Bannister merely opened the floodgates. His record lasted just 46 days, and at the 40th anniversary 964 athletes from 60 countries had broken it 4756 times, according to statistician Stan Greenberg. Now the number is heading for double that.See the full content of this document
Extract
The Truth, Just for the Record; Doug Gillon On the Scots Hero Who Helped Break the Four-Minute Mile
The race is steeped in myth, misinformation, and mystery. And the record possibly should not even have been ratified. Even the world governing body's official history carried incorrect data until corrected some years ago by The Herald.
This has led to the 72-year-old Gordon (below), then a little- known Scottish undergraduate in the field on the If...See the full content of this document
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