Bannister, however, reacts with charming scepticism when told that Radio Five recently announced the result of a poll acclaiming his run at Iffley Road in Oxford as sport's greatest-ever achievement.
To read some of the reflections to have run in the years since its debut, you'd think it was Sega's greatest-ever achievement – but reviewers of the late-1990s weren't universally impressed, with Suzuki's creation criticised for its languorous pacing; tedious legwork and menial, money-making tasks; and some of the absolute worst dialogue in video gaming history.
The deal made Carter one of the highest-paid novice fiction writers ever — an achievement that prompted a colleague to refer to him, privately and with mild derision, as "Stephen Carter, Superstar".
However, that they secured their best ever sporting achievement in the absence of a Eusébio, a Luís Figo or a Ronaldo promises to be hugely important to this team.
Or does it lead to endless striving in search of some ever-elusive achievement?
This points to a greater problem: the ever-growing achievement gap in high schools.
They complain that an event in which the quest for Everest-like achievement went along with a disciplined, healthier lifestyle has been watered down to little more than a hike in the park.
As initial improvements are made, strong reinforcement from management should be provided through recognition, rewards, encouragement towards ever-higher achievement and development of action plans and goals for future completion.
About a month later, the Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender Section of the New Jersey Bar Association unanimously awarded me its first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award.
And I fear that what we have in America is a familial case of mission creep -- one in which our well-intended quest for ever-higher achievement has bred a nation of helicopter parents and a generation of children with plenty of love and precious few limits.
