1. John Landy 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.
26 Facts About John Landy
1. 2.
John Landy was the 26th Governor of Victoria from 2001 to 2006.
3.
John Landy graduated from the University of Melbourne in 1954, receiving a Bachelor of Agricultural Science.
4.
John Landy became a serious runner during his university years, joining the Geelong Guild Athletic Club in 1949.
5.
John Landy 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.
6.
On 21 June 1954, at an international meet at Turku, Finland, John Landy became the second man, after Roger Bannister, to achieve a sub-4-minute mile.
7.
John Landy achieved a world record time of 3:57.9, ratified by the IAAF as 3:58.0 owing to the rounding rules then in effect.
8.
John Landy held this record for more than three years.
9.
John Landy ran his second sub-4-minute mile on August 7, at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games, held in Vancouver, British Columbia.
10.
John Landy lost the Mile Race to Roger Bannister, who had his best-ever time.
11.
At the 1956 Australian National Championships prior to the Melbourne Olympic Games, in the final of the mile race, John 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.
12.
John Landy apologised, helped him back to his feet and they both started running again.
13.
On 1 January 2001, John Landy was sworn in as the 26th Governor of Victoria, succeeding Sir James Gobbo.
14.
John Landy was appointed by Queen Elizabeth II on the recommendation of Premier of Victoria Steve Bracks, who remained premier throughout his term.
15.
John Landy retired as governor on 7 April 2006, and was succeeded by David de Kretser.
16.
On 15 March 2006, in the final month of his term as governor, John Landy was the final runner in the Queen's Baton relay during the 2006 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony at the Melbourne Cricket Ground stadium in Melbourne, presenting the baton to the Queen.
17.
John Landy worked as senior manager at ICI Australia, and had a public speaking career.
18.
John Landy authored two books on natural history: Close to Nature and A Coastal Diary.
19.
John Landy was commissioner-general for the Australian pavilion at Expo 86 Vancouver.
20.
John Landy died on 24 February 2022 at his home in Castlemaine, Victoria, aged 91.
21.
John Landy had Parkinson's disease for a period of time.
22.
John Landy's life was commemorated in a State Memorial Service at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 20 December 2022.
23.
In 1949 and 1950, John Landy played Australian rules football for Dookie College when he was at the University of Melbourne's Dookie College campus and won the 1950 Central Goulburn Valley Football League's best and fairest award.
24.
John Landy was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1985.
25.
On 12 July 2008, John Landy was the guest speaker at his club's centenary dinner held in North Geelong.
26.
John Landy had been a life member of the Geelong Guild Athletic Club since April 1958.