Words and video by Helen Fairley

Sir Roger
Bannister, the first athlete to run a mile in under four minutes,
officially opened a new athletics track in Sutton Valence this
week.

Sir Roger attracted a crowd of
hundreds to Sutton Valence School, and fired a starting gun for
four young athletes who ran 400m each in a relay in an attempt to
beat his historic mile.

But they failed - the
final runner crossed the finish line with four minutes and 20
seconds on the clock.

The track, which cost £800,000, was
jointly funded by the school and Maidstone council, and will be the
new home of Medway and Maidstone Athletics Club.

It will also be available to other
schools and clubs across Maidstone.