Wes Santee

David Wesley Santee (March 25, 1932 – November 14, 2010) was an American middle distance runner and athlete who competed mainly in the 1,500 meters and mile events.

Born in Ashland, Kansas, Santee was nicknamed the "Ashland Antelope." Santee attended high school in Ashland, where he set a state record in the mile run. He later attended the University of Kansas where he set records in Cross Country and the mile and two-mile events. He was the Individual NCAA Cross Country Champion in 1953, while leading his team to the overall championship.

Santee competed in the 5,000 meters in the 1952 Summer Olympics at Helsinki, Finland, but did not win a medal. Three years later, Santee won the silver medal in the 1,500 meters at the 1955 Pan American Games in Mexico City.

During this period, Santee was one of the top milers in the world, aspiring to become the first man to run a four-minute mile. His chief competitors were Great Britain's Roger Bannister and Australia's John Landy. On May 6, 1954, Bannister became the first to break the barrier with a time of 3:59.4. Seven weeks later, Landy surpassed Bannister's mark.

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Roger Bannister

Sir Roger Gilbert Bannister, CBE (born 23 March 1929) is an English former middle-distance athlete, physician and academic, who ran the first sub-four-minute mile.

In the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Bannister set a British record in the 1500 metres but finished fourth. This strengthened his resolve to be the first 4-minute miler.

He achieved this feat on 6 May 1954 at Iffley Road track in Oxford, with Chris Chataway and Chris Brasher providing the pacing. When the announcer declared "The time was three...", the cheers of the crowd drowned out Bannister's exact time, which was 3 min 59.4 sec.

Bannister's record lasted just 46 days. He had reached this record with minimal training, while practising as a junior doctor.

Bannister went on to become a distinguished neurologist and Master of Pembroke College, Oxford, before retiring in 1993. When asked whether the 4-minute mile was his proudest achievement, he said he felt prouder of his contribution to academic medicine through research into the responses of the nervous system. Bannister is patron of the MSA Trust. He was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2011.

John Landy

John Michael Landy, AC, CVO, MBE (born 12 April 1930) is an Australian former Olympic track athlete. He was the second man to break the four-minute mile barrier in the mile run, and he held the world records for the 1500 metre run and the mile race. He was also the 26th Governor of Victoria from 2001 to 2006.

Education

Born in Melbourne, John Landy attended Malvern Memorial Grammar School and Geelong Grammar School. He graduated from Melbourne University in 1954, receiving a Bachelor of Agricultural Science.

Athletics

During his school years, Landy enjoyed watching middle distance track events. He became a serious runner during his college years, joining the Geelong Guild Athletic Club in 1949. He was a member of the Australian Olympic team at both the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki and 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. He took the Olympic Oath at the 1956 Olympics.

On 21 June 1954, at an international meet at Turku, Finland, Landy became the second man, after Roger Bannister, to achieve a sub-4-minute mile, recording a world record time of 3:57.9, ratified by the IAAF as 3:58.0 owing to the rounding rules then in effect. That record held for more than three years.

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern United States and is the United States' 27th-most extensive, fourth-most populous, and seventh-most densely populated state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south and Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont to the east. The state has a maritime border in the Atlantic Ocean with Rhode Island, east of Long Island, as well as an international border with the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the north and Ontario to the west and north. The state of New York, with an estimated 19.8 million residents in 2015, is often referred to as New York State to distinguish it from New York City, the state's most populous city and its economic hub.

With an estimated population of nearly 8.5 million in 2014, New York City is the most populous city in the United States and the premier gateway for legal immigration to the United States. The New York City Metropolitan Area is one of the most populous urban agglomerations in the world. New York City is a global city, exerting a significant impact upon commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and entertainment, its fast pace defining the term New York minute. The home of the United Nations Headquarters, New York City is an important center for international diplomacy and has been described as the cultural and financial capital of the world, as well as the world's most economically powerful city. New York City makes up over 40% of the population of New York State. Two-thirds of the state's population lives in the New York City Metropolitan Area, and nearly 40% live on Long Island. Both the state and New York City were named for the 17th century Duke of York, future King James II of England. The next four most populous cities in the state are Buffalo, Rochester, Yonkers, and Syracuse, while the state capital is Albany.