Melbourne Track Classic mile to be raced in honour of John Landy

The spirit of John Landy for will be immortalised, with Athletics Australia adding the John Landy Memorial mile to this Saturday’s Melbourne Track Classic program.
 
One of the first great Australian distance runners and a trailblazer of the sport, Landy passed away in February at the age of 91. Whenever the men’s mile has been raced at the Melbourne meet it has been named in Landy's honour – now it will be a memorial to him.
 
Landy, a world record holder and an Olympic and Commonwealth Games medallist, became only the second man in the world to break the four-minute barrier in the mile but is most famously remembered in Australia for his performance at the 1956 Australian Track and Field Championships. 
 
Both his talent and sportsmanship came into play, when during the mile event, a number of athletes fell in the third lap, with junior 1500m world record-holder Ron Clarke among them. Landy stopped to check if Clarke was injured, and after a moment, decided to chase down the leaders to win the event in a time of 4:04.2. His win is often considered one of the greatest moments in Australian sporting folklore and was voted the Finest Sporting Moment of the Century at the Sport Australia Hall of Fame Gala in 1999.
 
“The Australian athletics community is still very much mourning the loss of John Landy, with distance athletes past and present rocked by the news of his passing,” Athletics Australia CEO Peter Bromley said.
 
“John inspired countless distance runners both at home and abroad and paved the way for a golden era in Australian middle distance running. He was also still involved in our sport before his passing, having followed our distance athletes closely, so we wanted to give athletes and fans this opportunity to remember him and honour his great legacy.” 
 
This year’s John Landy Memorial Mile will feature the likes of Tokyo Olympian Jye Edwards, Rorey Hunter and Callum Davies. Full lists will be released later this week. 

To purchase your tickets to the Melbourne Track Classic, click here.  

By Sascha Ryner, Athletics Australia
Posted: 14/3/2021