Sir Roger Bannister was a towering figure in the history of British sport and medicine. He was the first athlete to run a mile in less than four minutes, a feat some thought impossible in 1954, when Bannister was a 25 year old medical student, training mostly between lectures. But subsequent achievements would matter to him more.
He became a consultant at 34, was a groundbreaking neurologist, and in the 1970s led the fight against drugs in sport, developing tests for anabolic steroids as head of the Sports Council. He was knighted in 1975 and made a Companion of Honour in the 2017 New Year’s Honours. But he was never spoilt by fame, say those who knew and worked with him over many years. “He was a lovely man with many friends. Many of us have been greatly enriched by having known him and will be forever grateful,” says neurologist Dafydd Thomas.
Bannister specialised in understanding and treating disorders of the autonomic nervous system, which controls all the automatic functions of the body—such as heartbeat, blood pressure, and digestion. Patients with autonomic failure can experience debilitating problems, including fainting caused by inability to maintain blood pressure to the brain.
Christopher Mathias, who began collaborating with Bannister at St Mary’s Hospital in 1981, and at times struggled to keep up with his long stride on ward rounds, says, “Roger was a pioneer in clinical autonomic work. Before then, the science hadn’t really been applied to patients.
“These were the patients who felt faint when they stood up, they had what’s called postural hypotension. It was grossly under-recognised because very few were having blood pressure taken lying and standing,” says Mathias, who is emeritus professor at University College London.
Bannister developed autonomic investigation units in London at both the National Hospital for …

中文翻译：

---

罗杰·吉尔伯特·班尼斯特（Roger Gilbert Bannister）：创新的神经学家，也是首位在不到四分钟的时间内跑完一英里的运动员

罗杰·班尼斯特爵士（Roger Bannister）爵士是英国体育和医学史上的杰出人物。他是第一位在不到四分钟的时间内跑完一英里的运动员，这一壮举在1954年被认为是不可能的，当时班尼斯特（Bannister）是一名25岁的医学院学生，主要在两次演讲之间进行训练。但是随后的成就对他来说更重要。
他在34岁时成为顾问，是一位开创性的神经病学家，并在1970年代领导体育运动中的毒品斗争，并作为体育理事会的负责人开发了合成代谢类固醇的测试。他于1975年被封为爵士，并在2017年新年荣誉中获得了同伴荣誉。那些认识他并与他合作多年的人说，但他从未被名誉所宠坏。“他是一个很可爱的人，有很多朋友。神经病学家达菲德·托马斯（Dafydd Thomas）说：“我们中的许多人都因为认识他而变得非常丰富，并将永远感到感激。
Bannister专门研究和治疗自主神经系统疾病，该疾病控制身体的所有自动功能，例如心跳，血压和消化功能。自主神经功能衰竭的患者可能会出现虚弱的问题，包括因无法维持脑部血压而引起的昏厥。
克里斯托弗·马蒂亚斯（Christopher Mathias）于1981年开始与圣玛丽医院的班尼斯特（Bannister）合作，有时不敢跟上他在病房巡回检查中的长足进步，他说：“罗杰是临床自主性研究的先驱。在此之前，该科学尚未真正应用于患者。
“这些患者站起来时感到昏厥，他们患有姿势性低血压。伦敦大学学院的名誉教授马蒂亚斯（Mathias）表示：“人们对这种疾病的认识不足，因为很少有人躺着或站着去测量血压。”
班尼斯特（Bannister）在伦敦的国家医院开发了自主研究单位，以...