John Landy, who was renowned for his rivalry with Roger Bannister in the 1950s, has died at the age of 91.
Landy was the second athlete in history to run a four-minute mile.
The 1500m world record holder won a bronze medal in the Olympics in 1956.
Lord Coe said that our world is poorer without John Landy.
Landy wanted to be the first person to beat the four-minute mile barrier and battled with Bannister to do so.
In Oxford in May of 1954, the Australian and the British both achieved three hours and 59.4 minutes.
Landy set a record in Finland with a time of 3:58.0, which stood for the next three years.
He was one of the main protagonists in the chase for the four-minute mile between 1952 and 1954.
Roger Bannister was the first to recognise that Landy was the inspiration that inspired him to reach that landmark.
Landy is remembered for his show of sportsmanship in the 1500m final at the Australian Track and Field Championships.
Several athletes fell in the third lap, including junior 1500m world record-holder Ron Clarke, prompting Landy to stop to check on his rival.
Landy continued to chase down the leaders after checking on Clarke, and he won the event in a time of 4:04.2.
Landy was the governor of his home state of Victoria from 2001 to 2006
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