John Keston

On May 14, 2005, John Keston, an 80-year-old from Oregon, ran a mile in a historic time of 6:48.3. That's about one minute faster than the existing American and world records", writes Dave Clingan.

Pictures show John mid-record at the Canby HS track in Oregon, and in the 2005 USA Cross Country Championships.

There was uproar among masters athletes worldwide when the record was not accepted by USAT&F. Now, at last, the wrong has been righted.

The story behind thw story makes staggering reading, as the mile record signalled a massive comeback after John had a four-year spell starting in 1997 that included breaking his hip when he fell of his bike, breaking a leg after falling in snow, ripping tendons in his foot when he hit a rock while running, and then going through prostate surgery.