Dr. William Freeman, professor and chairman of the Department of Exercise Science, will present a paper at Oxford University on May 6, in a conference observing the 50th anniversary of Sir Roger Bannister breaking the four-minute mile. His paper, “Reflections on 50 Years of Motivation and Training in World Athletics: The Impact of a Realized Dream,” will address the impact of Bannister’s race and writings about the race.

The conference on “Roger Bannister and the Four-Minute Mile” will be held at St. Cross College, Oxford, and will examine the influence of Bannister’s race, described by Sports Illustrated as one of the two greatest sport achievements of the 20th century. The conference is one of several observances scheduled at Oxford during the anniversary week. It will include a re-creation of the race, with Bannister as one of the time-keepers.

Freeman coached track and field for over 30 years and is the author of four textbooks in the sport, including Peak When it Counts: Periodization for American Track and Field (4th ed., 2001), which is required reading in the USA Track and Field coach certification program, and High Performance Training for Track and Field (2nd ed., 1991), which was co-authored with Bill Bowerman, a former United States Head Olympic Coach and co-founder of Nike.

Freeman, the son of Mrs. Tom M. Freeman and the late Dr. Freeman of Dunn has written 13 books on physical education and on track and field, plus edited a collection of his father’s columns from The Daily Record, titled Faith for Our Time.

A teacher at Campbell since 1989, he has previously presented papers on physical education, ethics, elite sport, and the impact of technology on sport at scholarly conferences in Canada, England, France, Spain, Germany, Austria and Australia, as well as at numerous national conventions across the United States.