The four minute mile, in athletics, is the running of a mile (1609 metres) in under four minutes. It was once thought to be impossible but has now been achieved by many male athletes.
On May 6, 1954, the Englishman Roger Bannister ran the first sub-four-minute mile in recorded history at 3 minutes 59.4 seconds. Six weeks later, John Landy, an Australian, followed suit with 3:58, breaking Bannister's record. In November, 2005, Forbes magazine declared after interviewing a number of sports experts that Bannister's four minute mile was "the greatest athletic achievement" of all time.
The New Zealander John Walker managed to run at least a hundred sub-four-minute miles during his career, and American Steve Scott has run the most sub-four-minute miles, with 136. Currently, the mile record is held by Hicham El Guerrouj, who set a time of 3 minutes 43.13 seconds in Rome in 1999.
No woman has yet run a four-minute mile, although it is thought to be physically possible. The current women's record holder is Russian Svetlana Masterkova, with a time of 4 minutes 12.56 seconds.
In the 1940s running a four minute mile was thought to be the physical limit of the human body. However, it is now the standard of all professional middle distance runners. Authorities of sports medicine have long speculated that a three minute mile is beyond the capacity of human beings, but that it may be possible with advances in genetic engineering. However, considering the world record in the 400m is 43.18 seconds, held by Michael Johnson, and a three minute mile would take just under 45 seconds per 400 meters, it may be possible.
Forbes magazine declared four minute mile as "greatest athletic achievement"