Bring Back the Mile Salutes Jim Beatty
Historic first sub-4 minute indoor Mile by Beatty celebrates 50th anniversary on February 10, 2012
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – On February 10, 1962 in Los Angeles, American Jim Beatty became the first man to break 4 minutes for the Mile indoors, nearly 8 years after Great Britain’s Roger Bannister broke the once thought impossible 4-minute Mile barrier. Beatty’s time was 3:58.9 and his thrilling performance was televised on ABC’s Wide World of Sports.
“We salute Jim Beatty and still marvel at his historic achievement,” said Ryan Lamppa, Bring Back the Mile Founder. “One of the Bring Back the Mile objectives is to celebrate people such as Jim Beatty who have made the Mile such a storied event.”
At bringbackthemile.com, there is an exclusive interview by BBTM’s Duncan Larkin with Jim Beatty and his account of the landmark feat, along with the full YouTube video of his exciting indoor record run at the Sports Arena in Los Angeles.
The Mile holds a special place in Track & Field and beyond because no running distance, or field event for that matter, has the history, the appeal, the “magic” of the Mile. The first sub-4 minute Mile by Great Britain’s Roger Bannister in 1954 is regarded as the greatest individual athletic achievement of the 20th century, and no other event has produced an equivalent of the sub-4 minute Mile standard in the sport, in the media and in the public’s mind.
Unfortunately, the Mile has lost some of its luster over the past decade, and the Bring Back the Mile mission is: To return the Mile to prominence on the American sports and cultural landscape by elevating and celebrating the Mile to create a national movement.
Visit www.bringbackthemile.com or contact media@bringbackthemile.com for more information.
