>

Xxxx

xxxx

xxxx

Teenager Wood set to be part of history

TODAY marks the 50th anniversary of the running of the first sub four-minute mile by Roger Bannister.

And, tonight, local athlete Matthew Wood will be running a mile on the same track at a unique meeting to commemorate the occasion.

Sir Roger, who was subsequently knighted for his achievement, will be the guest of honour.

Wood, who lives at Whitehall Road, Darwen, and attends Blackburn's Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, was invited to take part following his own success in the middle distances at National and International level.

The 17-year-old runs for Blackburn Harriers, where his father Tony is the club chairman, and came to national prominence in the 1,500 metres, the distance known as the metric mile, when he won the National Indoor Championships in spectacular style just over a year ago.

Competing at Birmingham, he broke the under 17s Championship Record, which had stood for 30 years, and his time had only ever been bettered by one under 17 Briton and that was back in 1969.

Since then he has run twice for England, most recently only two months ago, and he has been a winner each time.

Tonight's meeting recreates the traditional opening season contest between Oxford University, where Bannister was a medical student, and the Amateur Athletic Association.

It will be held at the same Iffley Road running track at Oxford and the climax will be the senior men's race at 6pm, roughly the same time as the original record attempt.

There will be a full programme of races, however, and Wood will be running a little earlier in the under 20 event.

It is hard for us to imagine now just how much the exploits of Bannister and his rivals John Landy in Australia and Wes Santee in America captured the public's imagination half a century ago, but Matt's enthusiasm has been heightened by watching the recent BBC documentary.

He has been training hard and is aiming for the top even though he is likely to be the youngest competitor in the race.

It will be his debut over the distance as the mile is not often run these days, but although he has already broken four minutes for 1500 metres, the four minute mile is too much to expect just yet.

The distance is 100 metres further and will add more than 15 seconds to his time.