James John Bailey (21 July 1929 – 31 March 2020) was an Australian middle-distance runner. He reached semifinals of the 800 metres event at the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...

. While running for the University of Oregon under

Bill Bowerman William Jay Bowerman (February 19, 1911 – December 24, 1999) was an American track and field coach and co-founder of Nike, Inc. Over his career, he trained 31 Olympic athletes, 51 All-Americans, 12 American record-holders, 22 NCAA champio ...

, he was the 1955 NCAA Champion in the mile. He would become the first of a string of sub-4 minute milers under Bowerman. John Landy and Jim Bailey 1956

Biography

Bailey was born in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

and grew up in the central-west NSW town of Parkes, New South Wales where his father was a health and buildings inspector with Parkes Municipal Council. After a decade in the country, the family moved to Hurstville, New South Wales which allowed Bailey to pursue his running by joining the local St George Athletics Club. On 6 May 1956, Bailey was part of a mile race at the

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (also known as the L.A. Coliseum) is a multi-purpose stadium in the Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Conceived as a hallmark of civic pride, the Coliseum was commissioned in 1921 as a mem ...

. The race was a promotional effort to drum up interest in the

1956 Olympics 1956 Olympics refers to both: *The 1956 Winter Olympics, which were held in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy *The 1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport even ...

to be held in Australia. His compatriot John Landy was going to make an attempt to become the first person to break the

4 minute mile A four-minute mile is the completion of a mile run (1609 m) in four minutes or less. It was first achieved in 1954 by Roger Bannister, at age 25, in 3:59.4. As of April 2021, the "four-minute barrier" has been broken by 1,663 athletes, and is n ...

on American soil. As the NCAA Champion, he joined other top level participants including

Bill Dellinger William "Bill" Solon Dellinger (born March 23, 1934) is a retired American middle-distance runner. He competed in the 5,000 m at the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Olympics and won a bronze medal in 1964, setting his personal record.Jerome Walters,

Lon Spurrier Lonnie Vernon "Lon" Spurrier (May 27, 1932 – June 23, 2015) was an American former Middle-distance running, middle-distance runner who competed in the 1956 Summer Olympics and set the world's record in the half-mile in 1955. Spurrier was born on ...

and

Ron Delany Ronald Michael Delany (born 6 March 1935) is an Irish former athlete who specialised in middle-distance running. He won a gold medal in the 1500 metres event at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. He later earned a bronze medal in the 1500 ...

. The lesser known Delany, who would win the Olympic 1500 later that year ran a fast first lap, separating from the field. Landy caught up with Delany a straightaway (100 yards) short of the halfway point in the race, with much of the field still in contact. As Delany continued to lead the pack, Landy broke away off the front, putting more than 10 yards on the field on the backstretch. As others fell off the pace, Bailey moved up with Delany with a lap to go. By this point Landy had a 15-yard lead. Landy accelerated for his final lap, occasionally looking back to see the size of his lead. Bailey too accelerated for his last lap. Down the final backstretch, he was sprinting much faster than Landy, catching him with about 200 yards to go. Landy did not give up, keeping Bailey to his outside the entire turn. Bailey held the advantage coming off the turn and maintained it to the finish, winning by two steps. Landy succeeded in breaking the 4 minute mile, but the first to do it on American soil was Bailey, a tick of a second earlier, running 3:58.6, a 6-second personal record. Bailey was ranked #3 miler in the world in 1956. After retiring from competitions he played professional rugby in Australia. He then returned to the United States and lived in the Pacific Northwest for the rest of his life, working as a sportswear promoter in

Kirkland, Washington Kirkland is a city in King County, Washington, United States. A suburb east of Seattle, its population was 92,175 in the 2020 U.S. census which made it the sixth largest city in the county and the twelfth largest in the state. The city's downto ...

, and then a real estate agent in Bellingham, Washington. He died on 31 March 2020 in Bellingham, Washington.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bailey, Jim 1929 births 2020 deaths Athletes (track and field) at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1956 Summer Olympics Australian male middle-distance runners Olympic athletes for Australia Oregon Ducks men's track and field athletes Commonwealth Games competitors for Australia People from Parkes, New South Wales Sportsmen from New South Wales Australian Athletics Championships winners Athletes from New South Wales NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners