British athletics great Chris Chataway, best known for being one of the pacemakers for Roger Bannister's landmark four-minute mile run in 1954, has died at the age of 82 after a long battle with cancer.
Chataway, who was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to the aviation industry, had a stellar year in 1954 as he also broke the 5000 metres world record.
For that achievement and for his role in Bannister's remarkable effort it was he and not Bannister who was named the first-ever BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1954.
Bannister paid a warm tribute to Chataway, who also won the Commonwealth Games three miles title in 1954, saying he was "one of my best friends".
After retiring from athletics in 1956 he forged a successful career first as a broadcast journalist and subsequently in politics.
As a Conservative Party MP in 1970 he was appointed Minister of Posts and Telecommunications.
In that role he was responsible for guiding the Bill introducing commercial radio successfully through Parliament thus ending the BBC's monopoly.
He also completed the half marathon course of just over 13 miles in one hour, 38 minutes and 50 seconds at the age of 75 in 2006.
