Elliott Denman was a senior at New York University when the world changed forever 50 years ago this week because of an athletic accomplishment.

When Great Britain’s Roger Bannister ran the mile in 3:59.4 seconds on May 6, 1954, on the Iffley Road track in Oxford, England, he not only broke a world record, but shattered a myth that was becoming larger than life: that man couldn’t run one mile in under four minutes.

In 1954, it had been nine years since Sweden’s Gunder Haegg had set the still-standing world one-mile record of 4:01.4. Haegg’s record had spawned talk about a sub-4:00 mile. But the longer the record went unbroken, the more people were convinced that a sub-4:00 mile by a human was impossible. Scientists even chimed in with their opinion that Haegg’s mark was the limit to what man could do. He couldn’t run four laps around a 440-yard track in less than 4:00. It had become a mental as well as a physical barrier.

But as 1954 rolled on, Denman, who was just at the start of a track and field career in racewalking that would take him to the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia, as a member of the U.S. team, recalled, there was a feeling in the air that something special could happen that year. Australia’s John Landy, American Wes Santee, and Bannister had all run within a second of Haegg’s record. A world record was expected, but would it be under 4:00?

"There was an anticipation in the track world that it [the record] would go," said Denman, who lives in West Long Branch. "There was a lot of build up at the time. Three or four other guys had the chance, but it was Bannister who got there first.

"I was in complete shock when I heard it on the radio," he added. "Landy was the guy most thought would be the one to do it. Bannister was a wonderful guy. He ran track because he loved it."

The picture of an exhausted Bannister, wearing his AAA track uniform with the No. 41 on it, lunging to the tape in what appeared to be his last ounce of energy, is one of the most famous images in sports. It was flashed all over the world and Bannister quickly became an international celebrity. He had conquered the unconquerable.

To Denman, Bannister had done far more than set a track record; he had won one for the human spirit.

"It quieted the naysayers who put limitations on human capabilities," said Denman. "Most people thought it wasn’t possible to run under Haegg’s 4:01.4. There were stories that the human body would implode.

"Bannister’s record was a wonderful achievement," he added. "It’s been called the greatest day in sports. It was a sign of human progress. I knew once he had done it that other barriers, like the 7-foot high jump, would fall."

Bannister’s own mark would fall shortly thereafter in Turku, Finland, on June 21 when Landy took the mark down to 3:58.

Later that year, Bannister and Landy raced each other in Vancouver, Canada, in the Empire Games. Radios throughout the world were tuned in for the live broadcast of the race between the only athletes to run the mile under 4:00. It was like a heavyweight prize fight. Bannister would win the historic showdown, running 3:58.8.

It’s hard to imagine a similar scenario now occupying the world’s attention. In the 1950s, track and field was a much bigger sport here.

"Track was much more important in the sports scene," Denman pointed out. "The NBA was just starting, and no one followed hockey. Track had its window and got a lot of attention.

"It’s awful the way that track has been diminished in the big picture," he added. "Track has to fight back."

Even though track and field has been diminished, being the world record holder in the mile still carries a great deal of prestige around the world. Many of those who followed Bannister as the world record holder for the mile have become some of the greatest track and field athletes in history — Herb Elliott, Peter Snell, Jim Ryun, John Walker (the first under 3:50), Sebastian Coe, Steve Ovett, Steve Cram and current world record holder Hicham El Guerrouj have become world celebrities by daring to push themselves to the limit of human endurance and pain to run faster than anyone has before them.

It doesn’t matter that Guerrouj holds the current record at 3:43.13 or that more than 1,000 runners from around the world, 258 Americans alone, have broken 4:00 since Bannister’s milestone 50 years ago.

"It’s [sub-4:00] still a great athletic achievement," said Denman.