What was the best moment of your career?

It was an evening in October 1954, a meeting between teams from London and Moscow. I was in the 5,000m against Soviet runner Vladimir Kuts, the European champion. The White City athletics stadium was absolutely packed with more than 40,000 people. Mounted police had to control the crowds outside. We didn’t have any floodlights so two searchlights followed myself and Kuts through the darkness. I managed to remain with him and win by inches, setting a world record by five seconds. This race, particularly the last lap, I remember vividly. It hurt so much that it is etched into my memory for ever.

What was the worst moment?

Paradoxically, the time I beat Emil Zatopek, one of the sport’s immortals and the winner of four Olympic gold medals. It was the 5,000m final at the 1954 European championships in Berne, a few weeks before the White City race, and he was my target. I managed to overtake him on the home straight. But an unknown runner, Kuts, whom neither of us took seriously, finished 50 yards in front. To finish a very poor second, despite beating the great man, was utterly crushing.