Sir Roger Bannister - Cont'd.

No one in the American team could over top the two giants, Wint and McKenley.

Rhoden was the first runner for Jamaica and finished level with his American opponent, Harnden. The second Jamaican runner Laing, a sprinter gallantly trying to race twice his normal distance, handed over to Wint twelve yards behind Cochran, the American Olympic 400 metres hurdles champion. Could Wint and McKenley win this margin back from Cochran and Whitfield? It seemed unlikely… With enormous strides he flashed around the first bend. Normally Arthur Wint’s running seemed deceptively slow, but this time there was no mistaking his speed and urgency.

As he entered the back straight, he gained on Cochran with each stride, but suddenly his body convulsed and he flung himself on the grass verge, his face distorted with the agony of a searing muscle pull… I did not see Cochran steaming home to give Whitfield a commanding lead, but remained staring at the prostrate figure of Arthur Wint, thumping the turf with baton and fist in exasperation, oblivious to the comforting enquiries of his fellow Jamaicans.

He is the greatest natural athlete I have seen, with fine muscular and chest development and a graceful stride without any sign of tension. His great charm endeared him to fellow athletes and spectators alike. I am told that when I or any other English half-milers were running behind him we looked like little boys chasing our big uncle.

In the A.A.A. Championships on 15th July 1950, I ran my first half mile against Arthur Wint, the Olympic 400 metres champion. … I had a strange feeling in running behind him. … His length of stride was so great that it interfered with the natural rhythm of my own running. Arthur Wint was the only runner I had met who could influence my length of stride. He dominated me so much that I almost wished I could fit in two strides to his one. I had to keep at a respectful distance – it was like running against a giant. … Wint beat me with ease in 1 min. 51.6 sec., though I ran my fastest time in 1 min. 52.1sec., with a good burst over the last 250 yards.