Man with a Mission

When he came to California last week, Australia's John Landy, world's fastest miler, was a man with a mission: to run his fifth better-than-four-minute mile, and drum up enthusiasm for the coming Olympics in Melbourne. University of Oregon Junior Jim Bailey, another Aussie, saw as his own duty the modest task of pushing Landy to his fullest effort. N.C.A.A. Champion Bailey had never come close to Landy's record (3:58) in his life. Neither had any of the other five milers in the race.

Even though he figured to be beaten, lean Jim Bailey, 26, spent a nervous night, and scarcely slept. Calm and confident, Landy, 26, took it easy, loafed through a set of practice miles early on the morning of the race. He got to Los Angeles' vast Coliseum ready to go. Bailey was bushed, and, it seemed, past caring. He stared moodily at the crowd, had a tough time working up to racing pitch.

Right from the gun, Landy ran through his carefully planned routine. He lay back, just off the pace, followed Villanova's Ron Delany as he jigged through a fast first quarter (0:60.6). Bailey slogged along in the pack. At the half-mile mark Landy took over. His long muscles moving in a loose and splendid stride, he eased past Delany, and set out for home. No one else was close.

Then Jim Bailey got up on his toes, dug in and began to do his job. He caught Delany, crept up on Landy. Closer than he ever expected to be to the world's best, Bailey decided to boost his countryman into an extra-fast final sprint. "I reached out and batted John on the backside and said, 'Go!' His foot came up against mine, and he wobbled a bit." Right then, for the first time, Bailey decided he had a chance to win.

Incredibly, Landy made the same mistake he made two summers ago in Vancouver, B.C., when he lost the British Empire Games' Miracle Mile to Dr. Roger Bannister. He looked back over his shoulder. Bailey shot past on the outside, picked up a yard lead, and hung on to it till the finish.

"I didn't think I had a faster-than-four-minute mile in me," said Bailey, when he caught his breath. But he had. His time was 3:58.6, the first under-four-minute mile run in the U.S. A long pace back, John Landy was clocked in 3:58.7. Irish Ron Delany finished third in a creditable 4:05.5. "The four-minute mile won't be exclusive any more," said Bailey. "There'll be guys all over the world who knew what I did before [his best previous time: 4:05.6] and saw what I did today."

Sitting sadly in his dressing room after the run, John Landy remonstrated with himself: "I don't have the temperament of a race winner. I just like to run fast."

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