I'm reading a book about Bannister's sub 4:00 mile and started thinking. Given the current domination of distance running by the Kenyans and Ethiopians, is there a chance that a Kenyan or Ethiopian ran a mile in less than 4 minutes before Bannister but either wasn't timed or wasn't recognized? I mean, it is obvious that the Kenyans and Ethiopians have the genetics and the environment to run fast, so it seems very possible that someone with huge natural talent busted a sub 4 mile before Bannister did.
Also, given the vagaries of hand timing, is it possible that someone else actually ran under 4 first but was timed improperly or that Bannister's time was 4:00.1???
I just find it to be interesting that Bannister gets credit for the first sub 4 but there could have been others before him.