Anthony Famiglietti, a two-time Olympic steeplechaser, has his eyes set on his next goal: becoming the fourth man in history to run a sub-four-minute mile after turning 40-years-old. If he can get the funding, Famiglietti plans on making a documentary called Age Defiant, which will feature other athletes who maintained elite-level performances into their 40s and beyond.
“As an elite athlete you have to come to terms, on a much deeper level, with the slow degradation of your ability,” Famiglietti said to Outside Online. “When you see that number, 40, the mid-life crisis, the waking up at night stuff starts to creep in. You take an inventory of what you’ve achieved and what you haven’t.”
Besides his two Olympic appearances, in 2004 and 2008, Famiglietti was a dominant presence on the New York City road running scene. He is the 388th fastest man in history for his mile time. Famiglietti is attempting to run within four seconds of his mile PR (which he set when he was 27-years-old).
“There are seven billion people, but only a thousand and change have ever run a sub-four-minute mile—that’s astonishing. And only three, after 40, have ever gone under four,” Famiglietti says.
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