HERB ELLIOTT

For records set, drama produced and concepts rearranged, no other athlete in 1958 matched the young, audacious Australian, Herb Elliott. In January, when he was still a month short of his 20th birthday, he ran the mile in 3:59.9 and five days later improved on this performance by more than a full second. On his epic four-month tour of the U.S., Ireland, Great Britain and Europe, Elliott easily out-raced the best runners in the world and came back home with incredibly fast world records for the mile (3:54.5) and 1,500 meters (3:36). More important, he demonstrated emphatically that there is almost no predictable limit to the amount of speed and stamina an athlete can achieve with the proper training and attitude. In addition, Elliott is so young, strong and determined to excel that it seems the years ahead will also belong to him.

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