Sir Roger Bannister

In May 2000, no other athletic great of the 20th century was being accorded more attention than Roger Bannister. At century’s close, many polls and articles cited his sub-four minute mile as the most important sporting accomplishment of the 20th century. In a January 2000 cover story in Sports Illustrated, Frank Deford authored a brilliant piece on Sir Roger and Edmond Hillary, the first human to scale Mount Everest. Deford’s piece pointed to the historical impact of these two extraordinary feats on sport and society.

On May 3, 2000, Sir Roger and his wife Moyra arrived at the Institute for International Sport for induction into the Institute’s Scholar-Athlete Hall of Fame. Over the course of their six-day visit, Sir Roger and Moyra met with many Rhode Islanders at various Institute functions. One particularly meaningful occasion was a media luncheon the Institute hosted for Sir Roger in the Institute’s boardroom. For two hours, Sir Roger regaled members of the media and other special guests of the Institute with a combination of wit and brilliant perspective. John Gearan of the Worcester Telegram and Mike Szostak of the Providence Journal wrote wonderful articles about this session with Sir Roger.

• Click here to read John Gearan’s Worcester Telegram article.
• Click here to read Mike Szostak’s Providence Journal article.

Sir Roger would return to the Institute again in 2001 as a featured speaker at the World Scholar-Athlete Games. His ongoing friendship with the Institute has included hosting Dan Doyle at his home in Oxford, England, and at Pembroke College in Oxford, where Sir Roger served with great distinction as Master.