July 2012. The Oxford summer morning kept its word: rain playing hide and seek, the English summer at 14 degrees Celsius. But that did not stop a good thousand or so people from gathering at the famous Iffley Road track at 5.45am in the morning. All invited guests were asked to be there by 6am for the Olympic Torch Relay. The Oxford leg, we were all told, would start exactly at 7am. And it did. And then, Sir Roger Bannister stepped out.
Sir Roger, who challenged human limits one such morning under similar climes in 1954 by running a mile under 4 minutes. Andrew Hamilton, then Oxford University Vice Chancellor, summed up it beautifully: “It is a celebration of the ethos of the scholar athlete and Sir Roger Bannister epitomises this spirit.”
Sir Roger, then 83, was delighted to be the torch-bearer at Oxford. “This place has such a lot of great memories for me,” he said. “In 1954, it was a very similar day when I attempted to run the mile under 4 minutes. It was really windy and I had almost given up. Glad I did not.”
When I asked him what had changed in the world of sports since his time, Sir Roger was candid: “Everything has changed really. Sport is so much more sophisticated these days and you see so many more records.” He was very excited about the 2012 London Olympics and planned to make it to some of the events. “It is going to be my 9th Olympics as a spectator and I am sure it will be one of the most successful games,” he said.
Also present was Lord Sebastian Coe, who paid his compliments to Sir Roger Bannister.
After a very subtle and sophisticated ceremony lasting 30 minutes, the flame left for Abingdon. But that was not before we were left with some fascinating stories about the last Olympics in London, in 1948, narrated by one of the competitors.
Sample this from Dick Healy, a competitor at the Olympics known as the Austerity Games: “We were provided with an Olympic tie (I still have mine) which was extremely short to save cloth!” he said. “I will wear mine at the ceremony in London.”
Thus ended a fantastic morning in the pristine university town, which boasts such a strong sports heritage.
It’s about going that extra mile on World Athletics Day!@g_rajaraman ✍️@WorldAthletics @afiindia #WorldAthleticsDay2024https://t.co/KoVl1sGNBE
— RevSportz (@RevSportz) May 7, 2024