Includes footage of the 'Miracle Mile' against Roger Bannister, the 1956 Olympic 1500m, and his famous gesture of sportsmanship at the 1956 Australian Champi...
There's a great chapter in "The Lonely Breed" about that race from Landy's point of view. He thought he could outkick Bannister in a slow race but wanted to keep it honest and sort of saw himself as a sacrificial lamb for a good race
Excerpt: "He was in a cleft stick. Here he was faced with the most important and testing race of his life, wanting to choose tactics with which he would succeed in the test, and knowing that he could not choose. It was fascinating to think of disrupting Bannister's thinking by running a waiting race. But that would produce a winning time of about 4:10, and whoever won, a disappointed sporting public all over the world. Bannister was the Follower, with the Strike. He, Landy, was the Front-Runner. It was a contest of classic potential, and it had to be fulfilled. The race depended on him.
So he would run it from the front. The others? It was possible that there would be help, but unlikely. Both he and Bannister were so far ahead of the rest. He could not expect it."
I read the book “The Perfect Mile” by Neal Bascomb, chronicling the efforts of Bannister, Landy and Santee to break the 4 minute barrier a few times in high school. With respect to the others, I always found Landy the most likable and definitely the most inspirational.
As great as he was an Athlete, he was a better person.
I was lucky enough to know him. As an athlete he used to turn up at 'camps' to meet up and coming athletes. So gracious and encouraging.
I ended up working in the same company after my brief career and we were in the same division. I used to ride the elevator and chat with him most days.
A story I heard from one of his co-workers - he worked in biologicals and used to travel the country educating farmers on chemicals. He stopped for a snack near a country oval.
There were kids training. He went in and started talking to them and giving guidance. Some grumpy guy walked up to him and Said "Who do you think you are? John Landy?"
As great as he was an Athlete, he was a better person.
I was lucky enough to know him. As an athlete he used to turn up at 'camps' to meet up and coming athletes. So gracious and encouraging.
I ended up working in the same company after my brief career and we were in the same division. I used to ride the elevator and chat with him most days.
A story I heard from one of his co-workers - he worked in biologicals and used to travel the country educating farmers on chemicals. He stopped for a snack near a country oval.
There were kids training. He went in and started talking to them and giving guidance. Some grumpy guy walked up to him and Said "Who do you think you are? John Landy?"
Such a life.
That is an amazing story
As bad as the forums can be sometimes, it's really great that we can share these connections to history
There's a great chapter in "The Lonely Breed" about that race from Landy's point of view. He thought he could outkick Bannister in a slow race but wanted to keep it honest and sort of saw himself as a sacrificial lamb for a good race
Having read "The Perfect Mile" and seen footage of the race, I question that Landy thought he could out-kick Bannister. His tactics at Vancouver were intended to nullify Bannister's kick, but he knew he had failed when Bannister closed the gap and was right behind him in the final lap. As we saw, at the finish Bannister proved he had the superior kick.
What was heartening was to see afterwards how each gave credit to the other. Bannister ran with a cold, but there were no excuses, and he praised Landy, while Landy had a cut foot but said nothing about it and conceded the better man won on the day. True sportsmen.
I read the book “The Perfect Mile” by Neal Bascomb, chronicling the efforts of Bannister, Landy and Santee to break the 4 minute barrier a few times in high school. With respect to the others, I always found Landy the most likable and definitely the most inspirational.
I admired Landy greatly. There was a thread which showed his extraordinary race when he accidentally tripped a young Ron Clarke, went back to see he was ok, and then made up 40 yards to win the race. Fantastic effort.
As good as Landy was he was surpassed by another Aussie with a killer instinct - which perhaps 'Gentleman John' lacked - and that was the great Herb Elliot. They have both been icons of Western Australia.
As great as he was an Athlete, he was a better person.
I was lucky enough to know him. As an athlete he used to turn up at 'camps' to meet up and coming athletes. So gracious and encouraging.
I ended up working in the same company after my brief career and we were in the same division. I used to ride the elevator and chat with him most days.
A story I heard from one of his co-workers - he worked in biologicals and used to travel the country educating farmers on chemicals. He stopped for a snack near a country oval.
There were kids training. He went in and started talking to them and giving guidance. Some grumpy guy walked up to him and Said "Who do you think you are? John Landy?"
Such a life.
That is an amazing story
As bad as the forums can be sometimes, it's really great that we can share these connections to history
I had the fortunate opportunity to spend some time in my formative years around one of the world’s greatest milers and his family. In his office, there was a picture of that infamous moment when Bannister was passing Landy with 110 to go in Vancouver. Handwritten on that picture, it said “never look back”. I’ve never forgotten that.
There's a great chapter in "The Lonely Breed" about that race from Landy's point of view. He thought he could outkick Bannister in a slow race but wanted to keep it honest and sort of saw himself as a sacrificial lamb for a good race
Having read "The Perfect Mile" and seen footage of the race, I question that Landy thought he could out-kick Bannister. His tactics at Vancouver were intended to nullify Bannister's kick, but he knew he had failed when Bannister closed the gap and was right behind him in the final lap. As we saw, at the finish Bannister proved he had the superior kick.
It's interesting to think what could have happened in a sit-and-kick. The splits make it clear that Landy simply faded harder than Bannister: "It was not a fast finish. Bannister was able to finish no faster than at any other stage of the race, Landy slower. Landy had got to the 1500-metre mark only 1/10 second outside his world record. He then took 17.7 seconds to get to the mile- 1 1/2 seconds slower than in Malmo [when he ran 3:58.0]."
Also one of my heroes. In fact my first running hero.
I was in high school when he ran his famous race with Bannister at the British Empire Games in Vancouver. I rooted for Landy . I still root for frontrunners, the ones who do all the work. And I loved his modesty and decency and humility.
The videos of the Australian Championship race in which he stopped to help up a young Ron Clarke omit one telling anecdote. It was reported that when Landy still was able to run to victory, the cynical, crusty old Aussie sportswriters in the pressbox stood up and cheered.