Normally when someone is the 158th person to achieve a particular feat, we would not consider it news, but we'll make an exception for Matt Barnes, a sports law solicitor at Manchester firm George Davies. He has become only the 158th Briton to beat the four-minute mile, hitting the tape in 3.59.57 when coming sixth in the 2007 running of the famous Emsley Carr Mile (previous winners of which include Seb Coe and Hicham El Guerrouj). It is likely that most of the first 157 were professional athletes, which makes the achievement all the more impressive. In fact, only about 1,000 people worldwide are thought to have done it.


Mr Barnes tells us that it was hard going in the last 100 metres, but he was able to find that little bit extra. He was no doubt inspired by his time at Oxford University, where he trained on the same track that saw Sir Roger Bannister first break the mark.

A former British champion in the modern pentathlon, Mr Barnes turned to athletics relatively late in his career, and, though he is now 30, says his times continue to improve. Other athletes, such as Paula Radcliffe and Jo Pavey, prove that distance runners can get better as they get into their 30s, and Mr Barnes says he may look to move up from 1,500 metres to 5,000 or 10,000 metres races. At the moment he is targeting next year's world cross-country championships.



Now, Mr Barnes reckons he is probably the first solicitor to break the four-minute mile. Anyone out there who can prove otherwise, or has an equally impressive sporting feat to their name, email gazette-editorial@lawsociety.org.uk.