On his record-breaking day, Bannister ran for the British Amateur Athletic Association against the far better trained Oxford University athletes. At the end of the race, though, it was Bannister who finished first with a world-record smashing time of 3:59.4. The previous record time was 4:01.4. This record broke through a supposed barrier in running. At the time it was commonly thought that no man could possibly run a mile under four minutes.

Shortly after his record-breaking run at the Iffley Road track, Bannister left running to continue work on his medical degree at St. Mary’s College, Oxford that led to a career in neurology.

Bannister made many medical breakthroughs in autonomic failure, a subset of neurology that focuses on illnesses caused by the loss of certain automatic responses of the nervous system. In total, he published more than 80 academic papers on the automatic nervous system and other medical topics. Bannister himself said he would rather be remembered by his contribution to medicine than running.

“I’d rather be remembered for my work in neurology than my running. If you offered me the chance to make a great breakthrough in the study of the automatic nerve system, I’d take that over the four minute mile right away. I worked in medicine for sixty years. I ran for about eight,” Bannister said in a 2014 interview.

Nevertheless, his contributions to running are undeniable. In his memoir titled “The Four-Minute Mile,” published in 1955, Bannister offered some insights on running. For example, he argued that strategic and sustained bursts taken later in the race are better than spontaneous sprints, which tend to end fast and result in a loss. But it is his views on failure that made his advice distinctive.

“Failure is as exciting to watch as success, provided the effort is absolutely genuine and complete… But the spectators fail to understand — and how can they know — the mental agony through which an athlete must pass before he can give his maximum effort,” Bannister wrote.

Bannister was only 10 years old when World War II began, and it affected his life so much that it motivated his running.

“I imagined bombs and machine guns raining on me if I didn’t go my fastest… Was this a little of the feeling I have now when I shoot into the lead before the last bend and am afraid of a challenge down the finishing straight? To move into the lead means making an attack requiring fierceness and confidence, but fear must play some part in the last stage, when no relaxation is possible and all discretion is thrown to the winds,” Bannister wrote.

His passion for everything he did, from running to medicine, was rooted in his life experiences and his genuine desire to improve upon the situations in which he and others live.

Photo courtesy of the Los Angeles Times

Perko and Goldsberry, together with Elaine Barella, sophomore nursing major, and Gretchen Mayes, senior communication and accounting major, broke the school record for the 4×400 meter relay with a time of 3:58.79 minutes. Fabio Kammler, first-year business admin major, broke the record for the 200 meter with a time of 22.30 seconds.

“For myself and the team, I really want to establish Jewell’s name as something to fear. I want our program to be more well known and recognized for the talent we possess. Of course I want that for myself too, to be recognized as a power house and someone to look out for in my event,” Barella said.

Barella is less than a second away from breaking the indoor 800 meter school record, so that is on her radar as well.

As for Mayes, she hopes to claim the 200 meter school record, which she is .03 seconds away from breaking.

The current record breaks came as a pleasant surprise to some members of the team.

“[Breaking so many records] was definitely unusual and it happened at one particular meet. I’m not really sure what it was for everyone else, but for me I was extremely confident that day. For the [relay] I had the upmost faith in who was handing me the baton and who I was passing it on too,” Barella said.

However, with Perko and Goldsberry graduating, the dynamics for events such as the 4×400 meter relay are certain to change.

“We’re losing a lot of talented seniors such as Jessica Goldsberry and Margret Perko. Losing them is going to be a huge loss. My hope is that we continue our training to make up for that loss,” Barella said.

The next step for the track and field team is the outdoor season.

“It has been absolutely amazing to work with everyone on the team, and our season doesn’t stop here. We will be continuing into outdoor starting with our first meet in Tulsa, Okla. on March 19th. With such a strong indoor season, we are really looking forward to an even better season outdoors,” Mayes said.

Photos by Kyle Rivas.

A previous version of this article was published with a misspelling that has since been corrected.

No one expects a lot of defense to be played or a lot of effort to be shown in an All-
Star game, but a record-breaking 196-point display by the Western All-Stars was not expected either. Granted, the West had 193 until reigning NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) Steph Curry hit a 40-foot buzzer-beating three pointer. The final score was 196-173 in favor of the Western Conference All-Stars. The total points scored were 369, remarkably one point shy of the NBA record.

Russell Westbrook, a point guard for the Oklahoma City Thunder, took home the All-Star MVP honors after putting up 31 points, dishing out five assists, and grabbing eight rebounds. This is his second consecutive All-Star MVP, making him the second player in NBA history to get the award two years in a row after Bob Petit. Paul George of the Indiana Pacers had the highest scoring output with 41 points for the Eastern Conference. George was just one point shy of tying Wilt Chamberlain’s All-Star game scoring record set in 1962.

The main focus of the night was worldwide celebrity and basketball icon Kobe Bryant. Bryant declared at the beginning of the season that this, his 20th NBA season, would be his last. Kobe received not only a standing ovation from both the Eastern and Western conference All-Star squads, but also got the loudest and longest of the Toronto fans as he was the last starter announced for the game. Magic Johnson sent Kobe into the game with a phenomenal farewell along with a highlight video thanking him for his great years with the Lakers and recognizing him as one of the greatest ever to take the floor. Bryant finished his final All-Star game with 10 points, seven assists and six rebounds.

With dunks galore, players having fun both on and off the court and a memorable sendoff for a future Hall of Famer, this All-Star game was definitely something to remember. Kudos to Toronto for hosting and doing well at it.