 Bannister went on that season to win the so-called metric mile, the 1500 m, at the European Championships in Bern, Switzerland, on 29 August, with a championship record in a time of 3 min 43.8 s. He retired from athletics late in 1954 to concentrate on his work as a junior doctor and to pursue a career in neurology.He was awarded a CBE the following year for "services to amateur athletics".Bannister later became the first Chairman of the Sports Council (now called Sport England) and was knighted for this service in 1975.