The 4 Minute Smiler: The Derek Ibbotson Story by Terry O'Connor George Derek Ibbotson) was an English runner who excelled in athletics in the 1950s. His most famous achievement was setting a new world record in the mile in 1957. He was born on 17 June 1932 in Huddersfield in the West Riding of Yorkshire. He was part of a generation that included other great British 'milers' (1 mile running specialists) such as Roger Bannister, Chris Brasher and Christopher Chataway. He was the junior champion in Britain in 1951. After service in the Royal Air Force, Ibbotson returned to competition. At the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, he won a bronze medal in the 5,000 metres. After the games, Ibbotson focused on the mile In a race dubbed "the mile of the century", Ibbotson won with a new world record time, taking 0.8 of a second off John Landy's time of 3.58 min set in 1954. He was one of many signatories in a letter to The Times on 17 July 1958 opposing the policy of apartheid in internation