set himself the target of breaking the four-minute mile barrier. At the time Bannister was a 25-year-old full-time medical student at St Mary's Hospital Medical School. He could only train for 45 minutes a day for the event. The opportunity to break the record came on 6 May 1954, when Bannister was competing in an event for the Amateur Athletic Association against Oxford University. Bannister was going to withdraw from the race because of the gusting wind, however, just before the race, the wind dropped and Bannister decided to compete. He arranged for Christopher Chataway and Chris Brasher to be the pacemakers, with the first three-quarters of a mile to be run in under three minutes. After Chataway and Brasher fell off, Bannister then went on to complete the final lap in less than a minute and broke the world record, collapsing when he finished. It was announced to the cheering crowd that Bannister had recorded a time of 3 minutes and 59.4 seconds. Six runners took part and the full placings at the event were: 1, Roger Bannister (AAA) (world record) 2, Christopher Chataway (AAA) (4 minutes and 07.2 seconds) 3, Tom Hulatt (AAA) (4 minutes and 16.0 seconds) 4, Alan Gordon (Oxford University) 5, George Dole (Oxford University) 6, Christopher Brasher (AAA). A third member of the Oxford University team Nigel Miller arrived as a spectator and he only realized that he was due to run when he read the programme. Efforts to borrow a running kit failed and he could not take part. The stadium The Taylor Report, published after the Hillsborough Disaster, made a number of recommendations for the safety of all stadia. The capacity of the Iffley Road stadium had to be reduced to 499, as the cost of maintaining a stadium with 500 or more spectators was too high. The Roger Bannister running track is part of the Iffley Road Sports Complex, which in turn is part of Oxford University Sport. Oxford University Sport also runs the Marston Road Sports Grounds, the University Parks Sports Grounds and the University Sports Centre. Uses Athletics Oxford University Athletic Club Oxford University Cross Country Club Association football Oxford University A.F.C. References External links Official website Aerial view of the track and stadium 1876 establishments in England Athletics (track and field) venues in England Sport at the University of Oxford Sports venues in Oxford University of Oxford sites