Better Than the Best

Chasing butterflies around his home; in Melbourne, Australia gave amateur Entomologist John Landy, 24, the legs and lungs of a miler. Watching the great Czech Champion Emil Zatopek win three Olympic titles taught him some of the technical tricks of the track star's trade.

Then a long pep talk from his coach at Melbourne University convinced him that he had the makings of a track star himself. In December 1952, on a soggy Melbourne track, Landy ran a 4:02.1 mile, the second fastest on record. After that, he aimed high. He set his sights on the fabled four-minute mile. But he was nervous. He had a feeling that someone might beat him to it.

Landy was right. Last month British Medical Student Roger Bannister went the distance in an astonishing 3:59.4 (TIME, May 17). Undismayed, Landy set out to prove that he was at least as good as the world's best. This week Long John surprised even himself, and proved that he was better. At Finland's Turku Stadium, he ran the fastest mile ever: 3:58 flat. Just for good measure, he set a new 1,500-meter record on the way: 3:41.8.

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