Although a man of 40 years of age, Eamonn Coghlan, has run a mile in under four minutes, achieving this feat is still a major accomplishment denied to tens of thousands of other athletes. First breaks into this domain have been unexpectedly spectacular.
Some runners crash through the barrier, while others creep across it.
Some have attained their goal by unusual means. He started at page 1 and did precisely what was written, becoming the only man on the African continent to duck under the barrier. The 800m time appears to have a direct effect on miling aspirations. But all is not lost for the non-speedy athlete. Using the previous calculations, his combined 800m time was only 14 secs short of his mile time.