About John Walker
Sir John George Walker (born 12 January 1952) is a former middle-distance runner from New Zealand who won the gold medal in the men's 1500 m event at the 1976 Olympics. He was also the first person to run the mile in under 3:50. After his running career was over he was active in local government, as an Auckland Councillor and representing the Manurewa-Papakura ward. == 1974 Commonwealth Games == Walker achieved world prominence in 1974 when he finished second to Filbert Bayi of Tanzania in the 1500 metre run at the Commonwealth Games in Christchurch, New Zealand. In one of the greatest 1500 m races in history, Walker and Bayi both broke the existing world record, and others in the race recorded the fourth, fifth, and seventh fastest performances ever. Walker also took the bronze medal in the 800 metres in 1:44.92, his lifetime best for the distance; it still ranks him third-fastest New Zealander ever, behind James Preston and Peter Snell. Throughout his career as a world-class miler, Walker was coached by Arch Jelley, a school principal and a middle distance runner himself, whose work with runners has been typified by meticulous training programmes on a scientific basis and effective communications in person. == World record breaking runs == Walker broke the world record in the mile run with a time of 3:49.4 in Gothenburg, Sweden, on 12 August 1975, bettering the previous time of 3:51.0 set earlier that year by Filbert Bayi and becoming the first man to break 3:50.0 for the distance. Coincidentally, Walker's time was exactly 10 seconds faster than Roger Bannister's historic first sub-four-minute mile of 3:59.4, run twenty-one years previously. He was named Athlete of the Year by Track and Field News the same year.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.