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Sir Roger Bannister, the first athlete to run a sub-four minute mile, has died aged 88 in Oxford, his family have said.

A statement released on behalf of Sir Roger's family said: "Sir Roger Bannister, died peacefully in Oxford on 3rd March 2018, aged 88, surrounded by his family who were as loved by him, as he was loved by them.

"He banked his treasure in the hearts of his friends."

British Prime Minister Theresa May led the tributes to the former athlete, who later became one of Europe's leading neurologists and was made a knight.

"Sir Roger Bannister was a great British sporting icon whose achievements were an inspiration to us all. He will be greatly missed," she said on Twitter.

IAAF president Lord Seb Coe, who followed in Bannister footstep's by breaking the mile world record in 1981, today paid tribute to an inspirational man.

The president of the athletics governing body said on Twitter: "This is a day of intense sadness both for our nation and for all of us in athletics.

"There is not a single athlete of my generation who was not inspired by Roger and his achievements both on and off the track.

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"On the 6 May 1954, Roger made the impossible possible.

"One year after the coronation of a young Queen Elizabeth II and after man conquered Everest, Roger Bannister ran the first sub-four-minute mile with the help of his friends Chris Chataway and Chris Brasher.

"The world's best runners had been attempting the four-minute barrier for a quarter of a century.

"It was as much of a psychological barrier as it was a physical barrier.

"Bannister's assault allowed mankind to enter a world filled with new possibilities.

"His achievement transcended sport, let alone athletics.

"It was a moment in history that lifted the heart of a nation and boosted morale in a world that was still at a low ebb after the war.

"We have all lost a giant and, for many of us, a deep and close friendship."

(Image: Getty Images)

British Athletics tweeted: "All at British Athletics are incredibly saddened by the passing of Sir Roger Bannister at the age of 88. A legend in every sense of the word."

The London Marathon posted on Twitter: "For some the word legend doesn't quite cut it. Rest in peace Sir Roger Bannister."

British long-distance runner Jo Pavey, a former European champion over 10,000 metres, said Bannister's feat "showed that barriers could be broken".

(Image: REX/Shutterstock)

(Image: Popperfoto)

She said on Sky News: "He's such a great example to all the athletes coming through.

"He was such a gentleman, so able to give encouragement to all the generations of athletes coming through and he'll be so sorely missed.

"He's left such an amazing legacy in our sport, he was a true hero."

No cause of death was given today.

He was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2011.

In 2014, the athletics legend revealed he had the condition, on the eve of the 60th anniversary of his record-breaking run.

Sir Roger was struggling to walk at the time.

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But the retired neurologist, who treated Parkinson’s sufferers, said: “I do not want to make a fuss.

"I make as light of it as I can.

“Just consider the alternatives – that is the way I look at it.

"One of my pleasures in life, apart from running, has been walking.

"Intellectually I am not [degenerating] and what is walking anyway?”

(Image: Getty Images Europe)

Sir Roger ran the mile in 3 minutes 59.4 seconds at Iffley Road sports ground in Oxford, a feat many believed no man would achieve.

Drugs, therapies and surgery can control symptoms, which include shaking, stiffness and restricted movement, but there is currently no cure.

Sir Roger said in a radio interview: “There’s a gentle irony to it… as a neurologist, I treated a lot of people with it.”

He added: “It will take some time before a breakthrough, but the management and drug treatments are improving.”

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The "miracle mile" was run on the Oxford University track during a local athletics meeting with only a few spectators witnessing the Englishman's destruction of the myth that no human being could run so fast.

Bannister made headlines around the world at the age of 25.

Aided by Sir Christopher Chataway and Chris Brasher as pacemakers, he achieved the feat by running three minutes 59.4 seconds at the Iffley Road track on May 6, 1954.

His achievement opened the physical and psychological door for many other milers who have since beaten his time of three minutes 59.4 seconds.

(Image: Hulton Archive)

Roger Gilbert Bannister, born in Harrow, a London suburb, on March 23, 1929, was a shy, gangling medical student who preferred to be an oarsman rather than a runner.

In 1946, when he went to Oxford, his great ambition was to row against Cambridge in the annual boat race on the Thames.

But Bannister, who stood 1.8 metres tall and weighed only 68 kilograms, was told he was too light to make a first-rate oarsman.

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So he turned to running and his new ambition became to win the 1,500 metres at the Olympic Games in Helsinki in 1952.

Bannister started a five-year build-up and in 1947 at the age of 17 at Oxford ran his first mile race, finishing second in a time of just over five minutes. Later that year he won the mile for Oxford against Cambridge in an athletics meeting.

He asked for his name to be withdrawn from a list of 1948 Olympic possibles and continued his careful preparations for the 1952 games. But he managed only fourth place in the Helsinki Games 1,500 metres final.

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The press criticised him for faulty training methods. Bannister, nicknamed the "lone wolf miler" because he scorned coaches, had worked out his own training schedule to fit in with his studies.

After Helsinki he became the forgotten man of athletics. But he had set his sights on the four-minute-mile -- a challenge which had fascinated athletes and enthusiasts for years.

The world record was gradually being whittled down and a number of athletes were considered capable of crashing the four-minute barrier.

Australia's great miler, John Landy, recorded a four minutes 2.1 seconds mile in December 1952 and Bannister cut this to four minutes two seconds in June 1953.

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With American Wes Santee trying to lower his U.S. record of four minutes 2.4 seconds, the pressure was on and four-minute-mile fever was mounting. To Bannister, the challenge was not only to break the barrier but to be the first man to do so.

The Oxford University versus Amateur Athletics Association fixture of May 6 was the first competition of the British season of 1954. Bannister, by then a medical student at a London hospital, set that day for his attempt.

He enlisted the aid of his training companions and friends Chris Chataway and Chris Brasher, top athletes in their own right, as pacemakers.

May 6 was cold, wet and windy - not ideal for a record-breaking attempt. Bannister thought of calling it off but after a short rain shower and with a drop in the wind, he said: "Right, I'll try."

After a false start by pacemaker Brasher, the field of six got away. Bannister urged Brasher to go faster and at the halfway mark called on Chataway to take over from the tiring Brasher.

Then 210 metres from the tape he pulled out from behind Chataway to immortalise himself as the first sub-four-minute miler.

Seven weeks later Landy beat Bannister's record with a mile in three minutes 57.9 seconds and in August, Bannister lowered his own time to three minutes 58.8 seconds, beating Landy at the Commonwealth Games in Vancouver, Canada.

The run that made Sir Roger a sporting legend Sir Roger remembered every detail of the race 64 years ago which made him a sporting icon. He remembered the train journey up from Paddington to Oxford that morning, the umming and ahing over whether to go ahead with his world-record attempt, the blustery conditions calming just in time for the race and the role his two pacemakers played in making him a national hero. The events took place at Oxford's Iffley Road track on May 6, 1954, when Bannister, then a 25-year-old British medical student, wrote his name into sporting folklore by running the first sub four-minute mile, a barrier once seen as insurmountable. Bannister, who has died aged 88, told Press Association Sport in 2014: "I can remember every detail of that particular day. "I can remember what I had for breakfast, what time I left home - I can remember everything. Those little things stay with you as much as the achievement itself. "I had the perfect pacesetters, it transpired to be the perfect time to do the run." When Bannister first arrived at the track it appeared anything but, though, with the high wind far from conducive to breaking records. By the time he lined up on the start line alongside Sir Christopher Chataway and Chris Brasher - the trio were racing for the Amateur Athletic Association against three athletes from Oxford University - for the 6pm race, a lull in the breeze meant the conditions were more favourable. Chataway, who died in January 2014 at the age of 82, also went on to enjoy an unforgettable 1954, breaking the 5,000 metres world record, winning Commonwealth Games gold over three miles in Vancouver and finally beating Bannister to the first BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award. Brasher, who died aged 74 in 2003, became the co-founder of the London Marathon. Both men, though, are just as well known for their supporting acts at Iffley Road 60 years ago. A false start from Brasher added to the tension, with around 3,000 spectators watching on, before the runners were off on the second gun. Brasher took up the early pace, with Bannister slipping in behind and Chataway third. Brasher led them through the first quarter mile in 57.3 seconds and halfway in one minute 58secs. As the leader began to feel the strain, Chataway moved to the front and kept up the pace to go through the three-quarter mile mark in 3mins 0.4s. With little more than half a lap remaining, and the roars of the crowd getting louder, Bannister burst past Chataway and kicked for the line, using the last of his energy to run through it before falling into the arms of his friend, the Rev Nicholas Stacey. Now it was over to the clock. The result came from stadium announcer Norris McWhirter, who said: "Result of Event Eight: One mile. First, R. G. Bannister of Exeter and Merton Colleges, in a time which, subject to ratification, is a new track record, British native record, British all-comers Record, European record, Commonwealth record and world record - three minutes..." The roar of the crowd drowned out the rest of the time. The clock had been stopped at 3:59.4. The feat which had been branded beyond the limit of human endurance had been conquered.

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In August 1954, Bannister captured the European 1500 metres crown. Having qualified as a doctor, he retired from active athletics at the end of 1954 to pursue his medical career.

By 1963 he was established in his profession as a consultant in nervous diseases at three hospitals and a year later became a member of Britain's Advisory Sports Council.

In 1971, aged 42 and a father of four, he was appointed by the government as the first chairman of the Executive Sports Council designed to finance and promote British sport.

He was awarded a knighthood in 1975. He became president of the World Sports Council in 1976 and in 1977 was the first Briton to win West Germany's Hans-Heinrich Siegbert prize for his services to sport.

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Oxford University elected him Master (head) of its Pembroke College in 1985.

Bannister gave up his medical practice after a serious car accident and devoted himself to research.

He became director of National Hospital for Nervous Diseases in London and edited a textbook on nervous system disorders.

His prediction that the mile record would be progressively lowered was born out in subsequent years.

In 1999, Moroccan Hiram El Guerrouj became the 13th record holder since Bannister, lowering the time to 3:43.13.