Roger Bannister : Who Broke 4 minute barrier

“Your only limitation is the one you set up in your mind.” Napoleon Hill

In the 1940s, people believed that humans couldn’t run a one mile in under 4 minutes. It was believed that the human cardiovascular and respiratory systems could not deliver enough oxygen to muscles quickly enough to sustain the speed required for this milestone.

Many athletes and coaches believed it was beyond human capacity to achieve such a high speed. Everyone had created a mental barrier. Then, on May 6, 1954, a young man named Roger Bannister broke all these mental barriers and finished a one mile in 3 minutes 59 seconds, becoming the first person to achieve this milestone in athletic history.

A great achievement, right? But what really amazed me is that within 46 days, Australian runner John Landy broke Bannister’s record by completing a one mile in 3 minutes 57 seconds. Since then, over 1,600 athletes have broken this barrier.

What a beautiful message this story conveys to us: all barriers are just products of our limited mindset. If we change our beliefs, then no barrier can sustain in front of us.