Sport · Records · Limits

The Thin
Edge

Sport's greatest records and the limits behind them. One record, one limit, every episode: the story, the data, and what really held it back.

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The idea

Every record has a wall somewhere. A number everyone believed couldn't be beaten, until someone found the edge.

01

One record

Each episode follows one record, from the first mark to the day it fell.

02

The data

Every record progression is graphed, so you can see when the line falls and when it goes flat.

03

The real story

Popular myths are checked against the sources. Sources are listed under every video.

Episode 01
Roger Bannister in front of a brick wall painted 4:00, stamped MYTH

The four-minute mile was never in the mind

For nine years nobody could run a mile faster than 4:01.4. The usual story says the barrier was psychological. The data says something else: a war, a lifetime ban and an amateur sport. Then Roger Bannister ran 3:59.4, and 46 days later John Landy went faster.

Roger BannisterOxford · 19548 min
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