Roger Bannister’s four-minute mile running shoes for sale

The running shoes worn by English athlete Roger Bannister in 1954 when he broke the record for the four-minute mile in three minutes 59.4 seconds will be sold at auction in London next week.

Christie's said the shoes would be offered in its "Out of the Ordinary" auction at South Kensington on Thursday, September 10th and had an estimate of £30,000-£50,000 (€41,000-€68,610).

In a statement issued by Christie’s, Sir Roger Bannister said , “These shoes are the last tangible link I have with the four-minute mile. They served me great purpose, I’m grateful to them. I think it’s the right time to part with them and I plan to give part of the proceeds to the Autonomic Charitable Trust (ACT) which encourages the area of neurological research to which I have devoted most of my life. Other worthwhile causes in which I have an interest will also benefit.”

Bannister, then a junior doctor, became a household name when he broke the record in a race in Oxford on the evening of May 6th, 1954.

In his memoir, Twin Tracks Bannister remembers going to St Mary's hospital, where he was studying, on the morning of the famous race: "I was sharpening my spikes on a grindstone in the laboratory. Someone passing said, 'You don't really think that's going to make any difference, do you?' Then I rubbed graphite on the spikes so that the wet cinder of the track might be less likely to stick to the spikes."

Bannister went on to become a distinguished neurologist and master of Pembroke College Oxford. Now 86, he was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease four years ago.