In athletics, the four-minute mile is the running of a mile (1,609.344 metres) in uner four minutes. It was once thought by some to be impossible, but since it was first achieved in 1954 by Roger Bannister the 'four minute barrier' has been broken by many male athletes, and is now the standard of all professional middle distance runners. In the last 50 years the mile record has been lowered by almost 17 seconds. Still, four minutes remains the standard by which all male amateur milers are measured.