Athletics Giant Roger Bannister, 88

(ATR) Roger Bannister is being remembered as an inspiring figure who towered over sport in a humble manner.

The man who broke the four-minute mark in the mile died March 3 in Oxford,U.K., not far away from the track where he set the record. He lived in Oxford most of his life, teaching neurology until just a few years ago. Bannister was considered one of the world’s experts in that branch of medicine.

"This is a day of intense sadness both for our nation and for all of us in athletics," said IAAF President Sebastian Coe.

"There is not a single athlete of my generation who was not inspired by Roger and his achievements both on and off the track.

"He made the impossible possible. His achievement transcended sport, not just athletics," said Coe, himself a recordsetting miler generations removed from the Bannister era.

"It was a moment in history that lifted the heart of a nation and boosted morale in a world that was still at a low ebb after the war.

"We have all lost a giant and, for many of us, a deep and close friendship," Coe says.

An Olympian at the 1952 Games in Helsinki, Bannister finished fourth in the 1500m. By the time of the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Bannister had retired from running and had begun his career as a medical doctor.

Bannister was my pick to light the caldron for the 2012 Olympics in London. While he wasn’t chosen, Bannister took part in the torch relay when it stopped in Oxford ahead of the Games. He passed the flame along at the Iffley Road track where he set the record, dressed not in the torchbearer kit, but the navy blazer of an Oxford don.

In 2003, Bannister joined with other figures from British sport, politics and business at an event to launch the London bid for the 2012 Olympics.

Reported by Ed Hula.