THE FOUR-MINUTE MILE

There have been many barriers that have been broken in athletics, but even though it is over 60 years since Roger Bannister in 1954, the 4-minute mile still retains a mystique about it. Mike Berisford became the first Scot to break 4 minutes in 1958 and Kane Elliott became the 33rd and latest Scot to run under 4 minutes in 2023.

Here then is the complete list of Scotland's sub 4 minute milers:

Chris O'Hare at the 2019 European Indoor Champs (photo by Bobby Gavin)

Time		Athlete	Location	Date
3:48.87	i	JOSH KERR	Boston	27/02/2022
3:49.46	i	NEIL GOURLEY	New York	11/02/2023
3:50.30		JAKE WIGHTMAN	Oslo	16/06/2022
3:50.64		GRAHAM WILLIAMSON	Cork	13/07/1982
3:51.60		Williamson - 2	Oslo	21/07/1984
3:52.01		Williamson - 3	Edinburgh	26/06/1983
3:52.02		Wightman - 2	London	21/07/2019
3:52.11		Wightman - 3	Melbourne	15/02/2024
3:52.27	i	Kerr - 2	New York	29/01/2022
3:52.44		JOHN ROBSON	Oslo	11/07/1981
3:52.66		Williamson - 4	Edinburgh	31/07/1982
3:52.74		Robson - 2	Oslo	17/07/1979
3:52.84	i	Gourley - 2	Boston	4/02/2023
3:52.91	i	CHRIS O'HARE	New York	20/02/2016
3:52.91		Gourley - 3	Oslo	16/06/2022
3:52.98	i	O'Hare - 2	New York	16/02/2013
3:53.08		Williamson - 5	London	17/09/1982
3:53.13		Robson - 3	Brussels	28/08/1981
3:53.15		Williamson - 6	Oslo	17/07/1979
3:53.34		O'Hare -3	Eugene	27/05/2017
3:53.35		O'Hare -4	London	21/07/2019
3:53.43		Robson - 4	London	31/08/1979
3:53.47		Williamson - 7	Eugene	25/09/1982
3:53.65	i	Kerr - 3	New York	9/02/2019
3:53.88		Kerr - 4	London	21/07/2019
3:53.96		Williamson - 8	London	23/07/1983
3:54.14	i	O'Hare - 5	New York	3/02/2018
3:54.2		FRANK CLEMENT	Oslo	27/06/1978
3:54.20		Wightman -4	London	22/07/2016
3:54.23	i	ANDREW BUTCHART	New York	4/02/2017
3:54.3		Robson - 5	Oslo	27/06/1978
3:54.30		DAVID STRANG	Oslo	22/07/1994
3:54.59	i	O'Hare - 6	New York	6/02/2016
3:54.66	i	O'Hare - 7	New York	15/02/2014
3:54.72	i	Kerr - 5	New York	3/02/2018
3:54.81		O'Hare - 8	Raleigh	2/08/2019
3:54.92		Wightman - 5	Birmingham	20/08/2017
3:54.95		Clement - 2	Stockholm	30/06/1975

Scottish record holder Graham Williamson

Time		Athlete	Location	Date
3:55.01		O'Hare - 9	Birmingham	20/08/2017
3:55.13		Williamson - 9	Cork	3/06/1984
3:55.3		PETER STEWART	London	10/06/1972
3:55.35	i	O'Hare - 10	New York	14/02/2015
3:55.43	i	Strang - 2	Boston	22/01/1994
3:55.53		O'Hare - 11	Bay Shore	5/09/2018
3:55.56		Clement - 3	London	29/08/1975
3:55.61	i	O'Hare - 12	New York	8/02/2020
3:55.78		Wightman - 6	Gateshead	13/07/2021
3:55.82		Robson - 6	London	2/07/1978
3:55.82		Williamson - 10	London	15/09/1978
3:56.00	i	O'Hare - 13	Boston	30/01/2016
3:56.05		Strang - 3	Eugene	4/06/1995
3:56.08		Clement - 4	London	15/09/1978
3:56.22		O'Hare - 14	Long Island	6/09/2017
3:56.35		O'Hare - 15	London	25/07/2015
3:56.39		Williamson - 11	London	2/07/1978
3:56.4		Williamson - 12	Oslo	1/07/1980
3:56.48	i	O'Hare - 16	Fayetteville	11/02/2011
3:56.49		Robson - 7	London	3/06/1981
3:56.5		Clement - 5	Dublin	11/07/1977
3:56.63	i	O'Hare - 17	New York	11/02/2012
3:56.8		IAN MCCAFFERTY	Reading	11/06/1969
3:56.86		Strang - 4	Eugene	5/06/1993
3:56.9		RONALD SPEIRS	Philadelphia	30/04/1977
3:56.9		Williamson - 13	Albury (AUS)	16/10/1982
3:56.96		DAVID BISHOP	Dublin	11/07/2014
3:56.98		Williamson - 14	Gateshead	10/06/1979
3:57.0		Clement - 6	Gateshead	12/09/1977
3:57.02	i	Kerr - 6	College Station	10/03/2018
3:57.11		Gourley - 4	Birmingham	18/08/2018
3:57.17		O'Hare - 18	Cambridge (USA)	19/05/2018
3:57.20		Gourley - 5	Bay Shore	5/09/2018
3:57.24		Clement - 7	Edinburgh	6/08/1976
3:57.24	i	Wightman - 7	Boston	28/01/2017
3:57.26	i	O'Hare - 19	New York	31/01/2015
3:57.31		Strang - 5	Oslo	10/07/1993
3:57.38	i	Strang - 6	Fairfax	6/02/1994
3:57.4		IAN STEWART	Edinburgh	13/06/1970
3:57.4		P Stewart - 2	Edinburgh	13/06/1970
3:57.4		P Stewart - 3	Leicester	31/05/1971
3:57.4		P Stewart - 4	Stockholm	5/07/1972
3:57.4		I Stewart - 2	London	31/05/1975
3:57.40		Robson - 8	Cork	13/07/1983
3:57.44		Clement - 8	London	10/08/1974
3:57.57	i	Strang - 7	Fairfax	7/02/1993
3:57.59		ADRIAN WEATHERHEAD	London	29/08/1975
3:57.6		Weatherhead - 2	London	31/05/1975
3:57.6		IAN GILLESPIE	Exeter	16/06/1998
3:57.6		O'Hare - 20	Boston	16/06/2019
3:57.76		Clement - 9	London	30/08/1976
3:57.76		BEN MACMILLAN	Stirling	20/05/2022
3:57.80		Wightman - 8	London	25/07/2015
3:57.81		Robson - 9	Edinburgh	23/07/1985
3:57.9		Clement - 10	London	31/05/1975
3:57.9		Clement - 11	Belfast	3/06/1975

Mike Berisford - first Scot sub-4 - wins 1957 Inter counties

Time		Athlete	Location	Date
3:57.97	i	O'Hare - 21	Fayetteville	11/01/2019
3:57.99		Robson - 10	Barcelona	8/07/1985
3:58.05		DAVID MCMEEKIN	London	30/08/1976
3:58.12	i#	Gourley - 6	Seattle	25/01/2019
3:58.16		Robson - 11	London	11/09/1981
3:58.27		Williamson - 15	Edinburgh	19/08/1978
3:58.28		ADRIAN CALLAN	Swansea	13/07/1986
3:58.30		MacMillan - 2	Birmingham	9/07/2022
3:58.37		Clement - 12	Edinburgh	19/08/1978
3:58.38		Robson - 12	London	7/09/1984
3:58.40		Clement - 13	London	9/09/1977
3:58.4		I Gillespie - 2	Exeter	29/07/1997
3:58.43		Gourley - 7	Atlanta	22/05/2018
3:58.48	i	MATTHEW GILLESPIE	Boston	8/02/2014
3:58.5		Weatherhead - 3	Leicester	19/06/1971
3:58.52		Williamson - 16	London	7/09/1984
3:58.54	i	JOE EWING	Boston	16/02/2024
3:58.55	i	M Gillespie - 2	Boston	26/01/2013
3:58.64	i	Robson - 13	Edinburgh	19/08/1978
3:58.64		I Gillespie - 3	Portsmouth	5/06/1993
3:58.65		Clement - 14	Gateshead	9/07/1978
3:58.69	i	Strang - 8	Cambridge (USA)	23/01/1993
3:58.7		P Stewart - 5	Reading	11/06/1969
3:58.7		NORMAN MORRISON	Leicester	31/05/1971
3:58.74		Weatherhead - 4	London	26/06/1977
3:58.77		O'Hare - 22	Des Moines	30/04/2011
3:58.8		LAWRIE SPENCE	Gateshead	12/09/1977
3:58.81		Robson - 14	London	29/08/1977
3:58.87	i	Ewing - 2	Boston	5/02/2022
3:58.9		Clement - 15	Stretford	30/08/1975
3:58.99		JAMIE WILLIAMSON	Cork	16/07/2018
3:59.08		Clement - 16	Edinburgh	20/08/1977
3:59.1		RONALD MACDONALD	Gateshead	1/09/1975
3:59.10		Strang - 9	New York	22/05/1993
3:59.15		Wightman - 9	Oslo	7/06/2018
3:59.2		G Williamson - 17	Tokyo	25/09/1978
3:59.20		Robson - 15	Dublin	11/07/1983
3:59.24		MICHAEL BERISFORD	London	18/08/1962
3:59.29		ALISTAIR CURRIE	London	2/08/1985
3:59.3		I Gillespie - 4	Salisbury	4/09/1993
3:59.35		BEN POTRYKUS	Birmingham	9/07/2022
3:59.36		KANE ELLIOTT	Manchester	27/05/2023
3:59.39		Robson - 16	London	23/08/1978
3:59.40	i	Strang - 10	Fairfax	22/02/1992
3:59.4		Wightman - 10	Nottingham	28/07/2016
3:59.45		Callan - 2	Edinburgh	23/07/1985
3:59.56		GLEN STEWART	Sheffield	25/08/1996
3:59.58	i#	COLIN HUME	Murfreesboro	5/03/1983
3:59.58	i	Gourley - 8	Blacksburg	5/02/2016
3:59.62	i	O'Hare - 23	College Station	12/03/2011
3:59.62	i	O'Hare - 24	Boston	25/01/2020
3:59.67		Kerr - 7	Falmouth	18/08/2018
3:59.7		McMeekin - 2	Stretford	30/08/1975
3:59.7		Macdonald - 2	Stretford	30/08/1975
3:59.70		O'Hare - 25	Birmingham	18/08/2018
3:59.74	i	KRIS GAUSON	Notre Dame	5/03/2011
3:59.86	i	SOL SWEENEY	Athlone	13/02/2019
3:59.90	i	Kerr - 8	College Station	10/03/2017
3:59.92	i	Ewing - 3	Boston	3/02/2024
3:59.95	i	Gauson - 2	Bloomington	27/01/2012

complete as at 16 February 2024. 154 performances by 33 athletes.

i = indoors; # - non-standard indoor track. Ian Stewart also ran 3:57.3 at Reading 11/06/1969 before committing to Scotland.

THE FOUR-MINUTE MILE

SATS