A study marking the 70th anniversary of Sir Roger Bannisters sub-four-minute mile reveals that the very first 200 runners to achieve this milestone live nearly five years longer than average, highlighting the long-term health benefits of aerobic fitness.A brand-new research study launched to honor the 70th anniversary of Sir Roger Bannisters sub-four-minute mile record has revealed that the first 200 runners who accomplished this turning point share another amazing trait.The research study carried out by teams in Australia and Canada revealed that 200 elite runners typically, lived nearly five years longer than the basic population.Professor Mark Haykowsky, the Research Chair in Aging and Quality of Life in the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Alberta, says the findings released in the British Journal of Sports Medicine demonstrate the crucial significance of aerobic fitness.Professor Haykowsky says: “Breaking the four-minute mile was an extraordinary achievement 70 years ago and exposed simply what the body can accomplish. It set off a wave of runners following in Sir Rogers mighty steps.” Remarkably we found that like Sir Roger, who lived to the ripe aging of 88, the majority of the first runners also lived well into their 70s, 80s and a bulk are healthy and alive today.” Health and LongevityThe multi-national team found the health records of the first 200 people to finish the sub-four-minute mile. This included runners from the UK, Australia, France, New Zealand, and the United States who were born between 1928 to 1955. All 200 runners were males, and a majority were still alive.Professor Andre La Gerche, a world-renowned sports cardiologist who heads the HEART Laboratory supported by St Vincents Institute of Medical Research and the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute in Australia, states: “Our study set out to see how exercise impacted elite professional athletes over the long term. We understand that elite professional athletes have bigger hearts due to their continual aerobic output and there was some belief that this could affect their health and durability, but we found the opposite.” Five years of extra life compared to average is really considerable, specifically when we discovered that much of these runners not just taken pleasure in long lives but were likewise healthy too.” Not everyone needs to be able to run a sub-four-minute mile to take pleasure in health long into aging, but they need to exercise routinely and press themselves aerobically.” The world record for the mile now stands at 3.43 and is held by Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco. Ollie Hoare is the fastest Australian (3.47.48) and Kevin Sullivan holds the Canadian record (3.50.26) both of which were set at the Bislett Games in Oslo, Norway. No female runner has yet broken the four-minute barrier. The womens world record is currently at 4:07.64, set by Faith Kipyegon of Kenya in 2023. Reference: “Outrunning the grim reaper: longevity of the first 200 sub-4 minutes mile male runners” by Stephen Foulkes, Dean Hewitt, Rachel Skow, Douglas Dover, Padma Kaul, André La Gerche and Mark Haykowsky, 10 May 2024, British Journal of Sports Medicine.DOI: 10.1136/ bjsports-2024-108386.
