From Walt Murphy. Shared with permission. Walt produces an info-rich daily ”This Day in T&F” newsletter. Contact him at waltmurphy44@gmail.com if you’d like to join his distribution list.
1954—Just 23 days after Roger Bannister became the first man to break 4-minutes for the Mile, fellow Brit Diane Leather became the first woman to break 5-minutes for the distance when she ran 4:59.6 at the Midland Championships in Birmingham.
Leather, who passed away in 2018 at the age of 85, had set breaking the 5-minute barrier as a goal soon after taking up running in 1952 (after watching women run at the 1952 Olympics). From the NY Times obituary, “Leather wasn’t the only one with that goal: The race for a woman to break the five-minute mile was fierce, despite the lack of official recognition. In September 1953, Anne Oliver of Britain finished in 5:08.0, a record. Later that month, Leather beat that time with 5:02.6. Two months later it was Edith Treybal, from Romania, with 5:00.3. On May 26, 1954, Leather surpassed that mark by a hair, finishing (just over the barrier) at 5:00.2.”
Leather’s reaction after she was told her time on this day was a bit more subdued than that of others- “Oh, good,” she said matter-of-factly…”At last.”
Editors note: Reminds of the close calls of Wes Santee, Arne Anderson, Gunder Haag and John Landy who all just missed immortality before Bannister got it done. Diane went on to drop her record another 14 seconds (!) to 4:45 by the next year. It was 39 years before the male record dropped that far.
More about Diane: https://bringbackthemile.com/athletes/detail/diane_leather
