Mile News


Chilliwack WWII Veteran Claims He Broke 4 Minute Mile Before Bannister

September 04, 2014

By  Paul J. Henderson, Chilliwack Times

Sixty years after British runner Roger Bannister was the first to break the 4 minute barrier in the Mile, a Chilliwack man has a bone to pick with history.

“That pissed me off a little because that’s not true,” Cecil Hansford said during a conversation in his mobile home in Chilliwack.

You see, the 94-year-old Hansford is diminutive in stature but he elicits one huge claim: He ran a sub-4 minute Mile right around the time Bannister hit puberty.

“I broke the 4 minute Mile in 1942, two seconds faster than Roger Bannister.”

Unlikely history rewrite
It was May 6, 1954 on a wet, blustery day when the 25-year-old Bannister, then an English medical student, ran four times around a track at Oxford University in 3 minutes, 59.4 seconds.

The world took notice at the run, breaking what seemed to be an unbreakable barrier. Bannister’s name was written on sports history.

But 12 years prior, in the heat of the Second World War on a grass track in Gaza, Palestine, a friendly one-Mile race took place during a military sports day.

Hansford was in the British military, serving as a “fitter” in 211 Squadron of the Royal Air Force. Quite an athlete in his day, the 5’3” Welshman took part in a race with six others, including members of a local Greek unit, which included the Greek Mile champion.

Hansford said he ran the first three laps pacing off the Greek Miler before he took off for the final lap. As he crossed the finish line, a certain Sgt. Burroughs shouted “Do you know you just done the Mile in under four minutes?!”

According to Hansford, those timing the race clocked him at 3:57.7, with the Greek Miler coming in at about four minutes even.

Continue reading at: www.chilliwacktimes.com

Tags: roger bannister (175) , cecil hansford (1)

Facebook Comments

Return the Mile to prominence on the American & worldwide sports and cultural landscape by elevating and celebrating the Mile to create a movement.

ELEVATE
Bring Back the Mile as the premier event in the sport, and increase interest in and media coverage of the Mile for both those who love the distance as well as the general public.

CELEBRATE
Bring Back the Mile to celebrate the storied distance and to recognize the people who made and make the Mile great and to promote Mile events and the next generation of U.S. Milers.

NATIONAL MOVEMENT
Bring Back the Mile to create a national movement for the Mile as America’s Distance,
to inspire Americans to run the Mile as part of their fitness program and to replace the 1600 meters at High School State Track & Field Meets across the country.

Become a Mile Maniac member or a BBTM sponsor today! Join us, and go Mile!

Join Us

Thanks for joining the movement and being a Mile Maniac. We'll keep you up to-date with our Mile wires as well as exclusive contests and opportunities. Help us spread the word by sharing our site and joining us on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram!