John Michael Landy AC CVO MBE FTSE (12 April 1930 – 24 February 2022) was an Australian middle-distance runner and state governor. He was the second man to break the four-minute mile barrier in the mile run and held the world records for the 1500-metre run and the mile race.
Born~Died Apr 12, 1930 ~ Feb 24, 2022Last edited Oct 15, 2026, 3:50 PM
John Michael LandyACCVOMBEFTSE (12 April 1930 – 24 February 2022) was an Australian middle-distance runner and state governor. He was the second man to break the four-minute mile barrier in the mile run and held the world records for the 1500-metre run and the mile race. He was also the 26th Governor of Victoria from 2001 to 2006.
Family
The son of Clarence Gordon Landy (1900-1970),1 and Elva Katherine Landy (1906-1995), née Ashton,23 John Michael Landy was born in Melbourne, Victoria, on 12 April 1930.4 He married English journalist Lynne Fisher at Upper Beaconsfield on 30 October 1971.567 They had two children.
Education
He attended Malvern Memorial Grammar School and Geelong Grammar School. He was initially more interested in nature, and Australian rules football, though in his final year (1948) won the "Associated Public Schools Mile Championship" in a fierce race that resulted in his victory over P.B. Quin, of Xavier College, who was subsequently disqualified for his interference.
This page is based on “John Landy” from English Wikipedia, (r1378226501) CC BY-SA 4.0 used under the license. The original authors are listed in its page history.
During his school years, Landy enjoyed watching middle-distance track events. He became a serious runner during his university years, joining the Geelong Guild Athletic Club in 1949. He was coached by Percy Cerutty, who trained him to cut his time for running a mile down to 4 minutes, 11 seconds, earning himself a place on the Australian Olympic team at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki.158 While at the Helsinki Olympics, Landy befriended Emil Zatopek, the Czech four-time gold medal-winning runner, who persuaded him to increase the intensity of his training programme. He became faster still.8
Landy ran his second sub-4-minute mile on 7 August at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games, held in Vancouver, British Columbia. He lost the Mile Race to Roger Bannister, who had his best-ever time. This was the first time in history that two men had run a mile in under four minutes in the same race.8 This meeting of the world's two fastest milers was alternately called "The Miracle Mile", the "Race of the Century", and the "Dream Race"; it was heard over the radio by 100 million people and seen on television by millions more.19 On the final turn of the last lap, as Landy looked over his left shoulder, Bannister passed him on the right. A larger-than-life bronze sculpture of the two men at this moment was created by Vancouver sculptor Jack Harman in 1967 from a photograph by Vancouver Sun photographer Charlie Warner and stood for many years at the entrance to Empire Stadium; after the stadium was demolished, the sculpture was moved to the Hastings and Renfrew entrance of the Pacific National Exhibition (PNE) fairgrounds. In 2015, it returned to the site of the stadium.20 Regarding this sculpture, Landy quipped that "While Lot's wife was turned into a pillar of salt for looking back, I am probably the only one ever turned into bronze for looking back."21
Ron Clarke
At the 1956 Australian National Championships prior to the Melbourne Olympic Games, in the final of the mile race, Landy stopped and doubled back to check on fellow runner Ron Clarke after another runner clipped Clarke's heel, causing him to fall early in the third lap of the race. Landy, who was close behind, leaped to clear his body but scraped his spikes on Clarke's shoulder. Clarke, the then-junior mile world record holder, had been leading the race. Landy apologised, helped him back to his feet and they both started running again. In the final two laps Landy made up the deficit and won the race.8 The National Centre for History and Education in Australia said that "[i]t was a spontaneous gesture of sportsmanship and it has never been forgotten."22 Sculptor Mitch Mitchell created a bronze sculpture of the moment when Landy helps Clarke to his feet. The sculpture was dedicated in June 2002 and is on Olympic Boulevard, Olympic Park in Melbourne.23
Landy worked as senior manager at ICI Australia, and had a public speaking career. For eight years (1971–78), he served on the Victorian Land Conservation Council, contributing to debates and recommendations about the balanced use of public land across Victoria.28 Landy authored two books on natural history: Close to Nature (1984) and A Coastal Diary (Pan Macmillan Australia, 1993).29
Landy was commissioner-general for the Australian pavilion at Expo 86 Vancouver. On 12 February 2009, he was appointed the chair of the Victorian Bushfire Appeal Fund Advisory Panel.30 He stood down from the position on 7 September that same year.31
On 12 July 2008, Landy was the guest speaker at his club's centenary dinner held in North Geelong. He had been a life member of the Geelong Guild Athletic Club since April 1958. Named after Landy, Landy Field in South Geelong is the Geelong region's major athletic facility.46East Doncaster Secondary College has a VCE centre dedicated in Landy's honour.47 Central Park, in Malvern East, Melbourne, has a sports oval dedicated to Landy with a plaque which reads in part "Named in honour of John Landy, resident of Central Park Road, who used this oval for his training."48
In media
In the 1988 television miniseries The Four Minute Mile, detailing the rivalry between Landy and Sir Roger Bannister, Landy was portrayed by actor Nique Needles and Bannister was portrayed by actor Richard Huw.49
Further reading
FitzSimons, Peter (2006). Great Australian Sports Champions. Harper Collins Publishers. ISBN 0-7322-8517-8.
The Perfect Mile: Three Athletes, One Goal, and Less Than Four Minutes to Achieve It, by Neal Bascomb, 2004, ISBN 0-618-39112-6
"John Landy". Sport Australia Hall of Fame. Retrieved 25 September 2020. ↩↩2
Danielle Clode (2006) As if for a thousand years: A history of Victoria's Land Conservation and Environment Conservation Councils, Victorian Environmental Assessment Council ↩
John Michael LandyACCVOMBEFTSE (12 April 1930 – 24 February 2022) was an Australian middle-distance runner and state governor. He was the second man to break the four-minute mile barrier in the mile run and held the world records for the 1500-metre run and the mile race. He was also the 26th Governor of Victoria from 2001 to 2006.
Family
The son of Clarence Gordon Landy (1900-1970),1 and Elva Katherine Landy (1906-1995), née Ashton,23 John Michael Landy was born in Melbourne, Victoria, on 12 April 1930.4 He married English journalist Lynne Fisher at Upper Beaconsfield on 30 October 1971.567 They had two children.
Education
He attended Malvern Memorial Grammar School and Geelong Grammar School. He was initially more interested in nature, and Australian rules football, though in his final year (1948) won the "Associated Public Schools Mile Championship" in a fierce race that resulted in his victory over P.B. Quin, of , who was subsequently disqualified for his interference.
During his school years, Landy enjoyed watching middle-distance track events. He became a serious runner during his university years, joining the Geelong Guild Athletic Club in 1949. He was coached by Percy Cerutty, who trained him to cut his time for running a mile down to 4 minutes, 11 seconds, earning himself a place on the Australian Olympic team at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki.158 While at the Helsinki Olympics, Landy befriended Emil Zatopek, the Czech four-time gold medal-winning runner, who persuaded him to increase the intensity of his training programme. He became faster still.8
Landy ran his second sub-4-minute mile on 7 August at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games, held in Vancouver, British Columbia. He lost the Mile Race to Roger Bannister, who had his best-ever time. This was the first time in history that two men had run a mile in under four minutes in the same race.8 This meeting of the world's two fastest milers was alternately called "The Miracle Mile", the "Race of the Century", and the "Dream Race"; it was heard over the radio by 100 million people and seen on television by millions more.19 On the final turn of the last lap, as Landy looked over his left shoulder, Bannister passed him on the right. A larger-than-life bronze sculpture of the two men at this moment was created by Vancouver sculptor Jack Harman in 1967 from a photograph by Vancouver Sun photographer Charlie Warner and stood for many years at the entrance to Empire Stadium; after the stadium was demolished, the sculpture was moved to the Hastings and Renfrew entrance of the Pacific National Exhibition (PNE) fairgrounds. In 2015, it returned to the site of the stadium.20 Regarding this sculpture, Landy quipped that "While Lot's wife was turned into a pillar of salt for looking back, I am probably the only one ever turned into bronze for looking back."21
Ron Clarke
At the 1956 Australian National Championships prior to the Melbourne Olympic Games, in the final of the mile race, Landy stopped and doubled back to check on fellow runner Ron Clarke after another runner clipped Clarke's heel, causing him to fall early in the third lap of the race. Landy, who was close behind, leaped to clear his body but scraped his spikes on Clarke's shoulder. Clarke, the then-junior mile world record holder, had been leading the race. Landy apologised, helped him back to his feet and they both started running again. In the final two laps Landy made up the deficit and won the race.8 The National Centre for History and Education in Australia said that "[i]t was a spontaneous gesture of sportsmanship and it has never been forgotten."22 Sculptor Mitch Mitchell created a bronze sculpture of the moment when Landy helps Clarke to his feet. The sculpture was dedicated in June 2002 and is on Olympic Boulevard, Olympic Park in Melbourne.23
Landy worked as senior manager at ICI Australia, and had a public speaking career. For eight years (1971–78), he served on the Victorian Land Conservation Council, contributing to debates and recommendations about the balanced use of public land across Victoria.28 Landy authored two books on natural history: Close to Nature (1984) and A Coastal Diary (Pan Macmillan Australia, 1993).29
Landy was commissioner-general for the Australian pavilion at Expo 86 Vancouver. On 12 February 2009, he was appointed the chair of the Victorian Bushfire Appeal Fund Advisory Panel.30 He stood down from the position on 7 September that same year.31
On 12 July 2008, Landy was the guest speaker at his club's centenary dinner held in North Geelong. He had been a life member of the Geelong Guild Athletic Club since April 1958. Named after Landy, Landy Field in South Geelong is the Geelong region's major athletic facility.46East Doncaster Secondary College has a VCE centre dedicated in Landy's honour.47 Central Park, in Malvern East, Melbourne, has a sports oval dedicated to Landy with a plaque which reads in part "Named in honour of John Landy, resident of Central Park Road, who used this oval for his training."48
In media
In the 1988 television miniseries The Four Minute Mile, detailing the rivalry between Landy and Sir Roger Bannister, Landy was portrayed by actor Nique Needles and Bannister was portrayed by actor Richard Huw.49
Further reading
FitzSimons, Peter (2006). Great Australian Sports Champions. Harper Collins Publishers. ISBN 0-7322-8517-8.
The Perfect Mile: Three Athletes, One Goal, and Less Than Four Minutes to Achieve It, by Neal Bascomb, 2004, ISBN 0-618-39112-6
"John Landy". Sport Australia Hall of Fame. Retrieved 25 September 2020. ↩↩2
Danielle Clode (2006) As if for a thousand years: A history of Victoria's Land Conservation and Environment Conservation Councils, Victorian Environmental Assessment Council ↩