tell me about John landy
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John Michael Landy, AC, CVO, MBE, FTSE is an Australian retired 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.
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The second man to break the four-minute-mile barrier, Australian John Landy is universally respected as one of the great runners of the twentieth century. His dignity, sportsmanship and courage are beyond dispute. However, he will always be seen as the one who could have—could have run the first four-minute mile and could have won Olympic and Empire titles.
Born into a prosperous family in 1930, Landy went to the prestigious Geelong Grammar School and then studied agriculture at Melbourne University. Like most Australians, he was sports-minded, originally trying to succeed in Australian–rules football. He also ran to keep fit for football. When he made the state athletics team in 1951, he decided to take the sport more seriously. After winning the Combined Schools Mile in a modest 4:43, he was introduced to Percy Cerutty, the colourful local coach. This meeting changed Landy’s life; he gave up football and started to train seriously as a runner.
Landy's dedication to Cerutty:
"The bloke that made it possible."
His progress under Cerutty was remarkable. Within three weeks he ran 4:31 and after four months it was 4:17. A few months later, Cerutty described Landy in a letter: “As a runner this fellow is amazing. Courage and desire to excel without undue display of effort, much less suffering, causes him to run well within himself, as he admits…. He has legs like an ostrich with terrific muscular definition and size for his weight and bulk. He moves over the ground in just the same effortless manner and is amazing to watch.” (Sims, Why Die?, p.104)
With confidence from such early success, Landy was able to tolerate the abrasiveness of Cerutty. When his time improved to 4:11 and he was hailed as Australia’s biggest prospect, Landy was quick to credit Cerutty: “Without his guidance and inspiration I couldn’t even have approached the times I ran last season.” (WD?, p.110) With his rapid improvement, Landy was just good enough to make the Australian team for the Helsinki Olympics, although he was a contentious choice.