Legend Holds Olympic Torch

(ATR) The London Olympic Torch Relay begins the day in the hands of Roger Bannister.

Bannister, the first man to break the four-minute mark for the mile, walked with the Olympic torch at the track in Oxford where the record was set. He passed the flame to Oxford student Nicola Byrom, who took the torch on lap of the track before exiting and handing it off to the next runners.

"It's an honor to be included in a list of torch carriers which has included injured soldiers back from Afghanistan and other places, and I'm glad that it's taking place on this track in Oxford where I ran the four-minute mile in 1954," Bannister said.

Now 83, Bannister is perhaps the most iconic figure in the world associated with track and field. Smashing the record was the highlight of his sports career that included running at the 1952 Games. Soon after setting the new standard, Bannister finished his training as a doctor and left the track to become a well-regarded neurologist and academic leader in Oxford.

Sebastian Coe, chairman of London 2012 and himself a record-setting miler, was on hand for the event. Speaking to the crowd of 500 in the grandstand, Bannister proclaimed Coe as "the greatest-ever miler".

"Breaking the four-minute mile as a mark of athletic achievement iscentral in the history of our sport. He paved the way for what we did in the late Seventies and early Eighties," said Coe in tribute.

The morning event was held under grey skies and cool temperatures, like the date in May 58 years ago when Bannister ran his famous mile.

"It brings back happy memories and it also brings back some remembering of the weather. Today it looks like it might rain and that day the weather was so bad thatI nearly decided not to attempt it.

"In retrospect I'm glad because if I hadn't attempted it that day I might not have had another chance," he said.

Dressed in double-breasted blazer, Bannister is said to be unwilling to don the white torchbearer uniform which he teasingly calls "pajamas". But not wearing the costume in Oxford only may fuel intrigue that Bannister may relent and wear it July 27 as the final torchbearer during opening ceremony.

Another presumed possibility for that final spot, rowing Titan Steve Redgrave, carries the torch today as well, in Henley, home to the sport.

The Queen and Prince Phillip will watch as the torch relay closes for the day at Windsor Castle.

Written and reported in Oxford by Ed Hula

For general comments or questions, click here

20 Years at #1: