Biography
Rich Ferguson lived in Leaside and attended Leaside High School before heading to Iowa University on an athletic scholarship. At age 19 he was ranked the top junior runner in North America. Ferguson represented Canada at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics and at the 1954 British Empire (now Commonwealth) Games in Vancouver where he ran in the famous “Miracle Mile” race. Briton Roger Bannister had broken the four-minute mile barrier in England earlier that year only to be bested by his rival, Australian John Landy, just a few weeks later. Vancouver was the first time the two had run head to head. Both again broke the four minute barrier with Rich Ferguson finishing third at 4:04.6, setting a native Canadian record.