European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 7, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 32 the stars and stripes sports saturday May 7,1994 brazilians say Farewell of hero by Stan Lehman Sao Paulo Brazil a with a Shower of Rose petals and cries of Quot Senna Champion a brazilians on thursday flocked to say Farewell to beloved racing hero Ayrton Senna. Hundreds of thousands of fans took to the streets to accompany the final ride of the three time formula one Champion a who rivalled Pelc As a National idol. 1 As an air Force acrobatic team traced a heart and an a a so in the sky Senna a body was lowered into a grave at the mor Umbi cemetery Mth honors of a chief of state. A a in be cried for three Days. He was everything to me a said Senitte Silva bar Ros a businesswoman. Quot he brought great Honor to us  Senna 34/ died of multiple head injuries when his Williams Renault slammed into a Concrete Wall at nearly 180 Mph in sundays san Marino grand prix at Imola  death sent this nation of 155 million into mourning a and raised Tough questions about safety in Auto racing. Some 250,000 visitors a nearly twice the expected number a filed through the state legislature where Senna a body Lay since its arrival from Paris wednesday. A Many Knelt wept and threw Flowers at the sealed coffin draped in the brazilian Flag and lopped with Senna a yellow striped helmet. Quot its like losing a relative it hurts so much Quot said Valdese Dos Santos Rodrigues a Cook. Quot he was dignified honorable and had a heart As big As the  president Itamar Franco attended the Wake along with a Host of entertainers and racing celebrities. Among them were Drivers Emerson Fittipaldi Jackie Stewart Gerhard Berger and Alain Prost As Well As Williams team owner Frank Williams and Mclaren a Ron Dennis. Prost Senna a Long time rival said the two had made peace of the eve of the a crash.  a 1 Quot he was an exceptional Driver Quot said Prost a four time formula one Champion. Quot we were always fighting but weak by Joseph White Oxford England a some of the greatest milers of All time gathered at the place where Roger Bannister broke the four minute Barrier 40 years ago. Predictably Bannister stole the show. A Spry Man who still walks with a Bounce in his step at age 65, Bannister recounted the race that instantly made him one of greatest spoiling celebrities of the 20th Century. Bannister a Milestone came on a Grey wet and Windy Day at the Offley Road track. In fact after 40 years the weather was one of the few things that Hadnot changed As he and 11 other world mile record holders met thursday on the. Eve of the anniversary. Quot there was rain throughout the Day a Bannister remembered As he strolled around the track in the rain. Quot it was quite a thing managing to do it in weather like this in  the successors to his mile record including american Jim Ryun and current record Holder Noureddine Morcelia of a.1-Geria, could Only Marvel at the feat achieved in the Days before synthetic tracks High tech training methods and big Money incentives. Quot that was thought to be impossible a Morcelia said of the four minute Barrier. Quot he proved it Wasny to impossible and gave the a France soothers Quot Quot i did no to train very hard Quot Bannister recalled. Quot i trained about a half an hour ways had a High Mutual respect for each other. We realized that one without the other was not the  / a to sure we would have been together again in the future in Senna a Honor i will never sit in a formula one car  As soldiers fired a 21-Cannon Salute state police cadets placed the coffin on a firetruck for the 10-mile ride to the Small cemetery in the posh mor Umbi District. Mobs of mourners lined the downtown streets and overpasses applauding and waving brazilian flags As the cortege passed. Thousands More jogged alongside the cortege or Rode behind As confetti and Flowers showered from windows above. A one fan held a Banner in brazils Green and yellow colors saying in portuguese Quot the dream is  an electronic billboard showed Senna a face and the words Quot the Pride of being  major television networks interrupted regular programming to broadcast the Wake and funeral. The family restricted Access to the Small cemetery but an estimated 50,000 fans watched outside the Gates As Senna a casket was wheeled in. The corps of pall a bearers was a who a who of a actg Fittipaldi Stewart Prost Berger Raul Boe Sel Johnny Herbert Michele Albreto Christian Fittipaldi Rubens arrichello and Pedro Lamy. As the coffin was lowered into the ground police stopped traffic on brazils biggest Highway Between Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro in a sign of respect. At the same time the Cable car on riots famed Sugarloaf Mountain stopped and workers dumped bushels of Rose petals into the sea. Meanwhile Drivers reacted angrily to what Many consider a disdain for safety in formula one racing. Prost said three minor changes adopted wednesday at a meeting of the International automobile federation were simply window dressing. Quot nothing has changed Quot he said. Roger Bannister. 40 years after record run a Day and nowadays runners train two hours a Day. We did no to bother to warm up and we did no to bother to Cool Down but the work we did was very  Bannister said he knew Gundar Haggis nine year old record of 4 minutes 1.4 thousands took on As a Are truck carrying the coffin of Ayrton Senna the cemetery in Sao Paulo  a a a \ a a map makes its Way to seconds was about to fall other runners around the world were getting close. Perhaps Bannister a last Chance would be the Oxford is. Amateur athletic association meet at the modest Offley venue on Mav 6,1954. Quot in my own mind i was going to make the attempt but i did no to Tell everybody else Quot Bannister said. A i did no to want the world to know it was happening because the weather was so bad that at the last minute i might have to Call it off. It would have been no Point in attempting it if the wind had been enormously  1 about 30 minutes before the Start of the race Bannister noticed that the Flag Over the nearby Church a the same Flag that was flying thursday a was going 1 in p. The e oppo r Unity woul d be his. Quot i thought if i done to make the attempt today i May never forgive myself a Bannister recalled Quot i May pull a muscle tomorrow. I May fall under a bus and we knew that John Landy and others were going to attempt it. Those were the thoughts in my mind when the gun  Bannister had sharpened his spikes at the nearby medical school to help offset the effects of the wet rough cinder track. With Christopher Brasher pacing the Field for two laps Bannister clocked 3 59.4. Quot the biggest disadvantage would be the footing Rynn w to broke the record on cinder in the 1960s, said As he considered Bannister a run. Quot for those that have Only run on synthetic surfaces its hard for them to appreciate the extra Energy it requires to run on a soft track like or. Bannister  Bannister who Only held the record 46 Days before Landy ran 3 58.0 at Turku Finland retired from the track shortly of to Coward to pursue a medical career. His sporting immortality however remained intact. Quot when i became a doctor a month a a Ter running a four minute mile it made life More difficult because people  really believe i was a world record Holder and a serious doctor a he said. _ in addition to Bannister Ryun Morce i and Landy the other world record milers at the Offley Road Celebration were Arne Andersson of Sweden briton Derek Ibbotson Michel Jazy of France ,5ayi Tanzania australians Herb Elliott Britain a Steve cram and new sealanders Peter Snell and John Walker. Sydney Wooderson the oldest living Yaj oof Holder and Sebastian Coe joined the festivities in a gala dinner in London Friday the anniversary of Bannister a achievement. The two other living record holders Hagg of Sweden and Steve Ovett of Britain were unable to attend. Hagg was ill and Ovett was on vacation.  4 1 a if it a f a a a i it Quot h. A Rye