Our house was bombed, and the roof fell in. We were sitting under the stairs of the basement, and we were quite safe, but it brought home the realization. In two nights 400 people were killed in small town.

The Athletic Association competed against the University. So there was an event. You cannot break world records unless it is an established event, and you have three timekeepers, and the whole thing is organized.

The man who goes on, even when it's the hardest to be the winner.

I've always been very impatient. At age 10 I frankly found life boring, and I can remember age 9 having the awful thought, as it seems now looking back on it, A war! That should liven things up a bit!

The mile has all the elements of a drama.

It's amazing that more people have climbed Mount Everest than have broken the 4-minute mile.

My athleticism was really the core to social acceptance, because in those days the overwhelming number of students came from more of a public school background than I did.