Athlete Sir Roger Bannister, famous for becoming the first man to run a mile in under four minutes, is to be honoured with a memorial at Westminster Abbey. The sub-four minute mile was widely believed to be beyond human capability until Sir Roger achieved the feat. With the help of pacemakers Sir Christopher Chataway and Chris Brasher, the then-medical student ran the distance in three minutes 59.4 seconds at the Iffley Road track at Oxford University on May 6 1954. He won a Commonwealth and a European Championship gold medal later that year. Roger Bannister (front) represents Oxford University during the Inter-Varsity mile event at the White City in London (PA)