Media Room
Press ReleasesApril 6, 2004
John Walker: The 100-Mile Man
A decade after Peter Snell began making headlines another New Zealand runner came on the scene to take his place as one of the greatest milers to everset foot on a track.John Walker became known not only for his prowess on the track but also for his longevity in a celebrated international running career that lasted for two decades. At age 20 he won the 1972 New Zealand senior title but did not make his country's team to compete at the Munich Olympics that year.
But by 1974 he established himself as a quality contender, winning the national 1,500-metre title and qualifying in both the 800 and 1,500 metres for the Commonwealth Games in Christchurch. He earned the bronze medal in the two-lap event then took to the track for a 1,500-metre final, now considered one of the best races ever, rivaling even the Miracle Mile ofRoger Bannister and John Landy two decades earlier.
Young Tanzanian sensation Filbert Bayi, who a year earlier had defeated venerable Kip Keino at the African Games, set the pace for a field that included 1972 Olympic bronze medallist Rod Dixon and fourth and fifth-place Munich finishers Mike Boit of Kenya and Brendan Foster of Great Britain. In the final lap Walker closed to within two strides of Bayi but could never overtake the Tanzanian down the final straight.At the finish Bayi won in a world record 3:32.16 followed by Walker in 3:32.52, also under the former world mark.
A year later in Jamaica Bayi rewrote the world record for the mile, running 3:51.0 to eclipse the 3:51.1 mark set by American Jim Ryun in 1967. But three months later, on Aug. 12, Walker improved on Bayi's mark and made history as the first man to run the mile in under 3:50, speeding to a 3:49.4 victory in Sweden. Walker went on to win the gold medal in the 1,500 metres at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal although a boycott of those Games by African nations eliminated the chance for a much-anticipated rematch against Bayi.
Four years later Walker was unable to defend his Olympic title due to his country's boycott of the 1980 Olympics. At age 30 he took a silver medal in the 1,500 metres at the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane.
But one of his greatest feats came in 1985 when he became the first person to have run 100 sub-four-minute miles, some 11 years after dipping under the four-minute mark for the first time. In all, he ran 127 sub-four-minute miles. Walker was honoured in being named New Zealand's Sportsman of the Decade for 1970-1979 and remains revered as one of track and field's greatest competitors.
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