Every sport has its great achievers, and every era ushers in athletes of such singular achievement they make once-thought-impossible feats seem suddenly possible.  How do they do it?  What drives them?   What makes a champion so different from other people, let alone other athletes?

Some athletes compete faster, higher, and more intensely than the rest of the pack, driving themselves to break records and accomplish the unthinkable. The roar of the crowd at major sports competitions says it all—great champions offer a level of inspiration that is utterly soul stirring.

What makes a champion?  It’s more than just physical training and agility – though those elements can’t be discounted.  Legendary, truly great athletes share an ability to focus mentally on a level most of us can scarcely imagine.

Roger Bannister became a sports legend in 1954 when he broke the then unimaginable four-minute mile speed record in a race in Oxford, England. The previous record had been held for nine years, and the achievement of running a mile in less than four minutes had been deemed impossible.  Yet Bannister did it.  How?

Bannister had been running his whole life and dedicated himself to a system of light training.  He often said it was easier for him to run than to walk, so he ran. And ran. And ran.  Before the race at Oxford he began training even harder with a new approach, a training system that combined a system of steady running with fast spurts.

Significantly, Bannister visualized himself breaking the four-minute barrier, and once the race was run he was confident he had achieved it.  It was Bannister’s combination of acute, dedicated training along with mental discipline and an overriding belief in his ability to achieve the impossible that lead to his legendary victory.

In his book, Four Minute Mile, Bannister wrote,  “No one can say, ‘You must not run faster than this, or jump higher than that.’ The human spirit is indomitable."

Roger Bannister’s incredible achievement, both athletically and mentally, still inspires athletes and thinkers worldwide.