Bronze statuette of John Landy and Roger Bannister, Vth British Empire & Commonwealth Games, 1954
Object Type
Artwork/Sculpture/Statuette
Date Used
07 Aug 1954
Circa 1956
See full details
Object Detail
Brief Description
Bronze statuette of rival runners Roger Bannister and John Landy running their famous race at the British Empire Games in Vancouver on August 7, 1954. The critical moment depicted in the sculpture is Landy looking over his right shoulder as Bannister overtakes him on the left, before Bannister went on to win the race. Despite Bannister being the first man to achieve the holy grail of 20th-century sporting endeavours in breaking the 4-minute mile on 6th May that year, he described this race against Landy as his defining race, as he was racing to take back his world record from Landy who had smashed it on June 21, just 46 days after Bannister had set it. In this race, billed as "The Mile of the Century," both runners beat the four minute time, but Bannister came in first at 3:58.8 to Landy's 3:59.6. The sculpture depicts the runners wearing shorts and singlets, with their all-important spikes prominent. The sculpture sits on a wooden base.
Measurements
0 - Whole: H: 560 W: 290 D: 280mm (H: 22 1/16 W: 11 7/16 D: 11")
Associated Event
Associated Person
Date Used
07 Aug 1954
Circa 1956
Circa 1956
Location
In storage
Registration No
1986.956
Subject Auto Tags
Share
Comments
Be the first to comment.