Although he may not be old enough to hold a driver’s license, 15-year-old Sam Ruthe can already run a world-class mile. Taking to the track on Wednesday 19 March at the ACA Mile Night in Auckland, New Zealand, the teenager ran a blinding 3:58.35 in the four-lap race to reset the record books.
Ruthe – who hails from Tauranga, New Zealand, and who turns 16 in April – is now the youngest athlete to ever break the four-minute barrier in the event. Prior to Ruthe’s performance, Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway held that distinction, having run 3:58.07 at the 2017 Prefontaine Classic as a 16-year-old.
Wednesday’s mile, which was held at the Go Media Stadium, was well paced for a historic performance. In the opening laps, Ruthe was led by pacesetter Ethan Smolej, who brought the field through the first 800m in under two minutes. Once Smolej stepped off the track, Olympian Sam Tanner took over up front.
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By the 1200m split, Tanner, Ruthe and Benjamin Wall had pulled away from the rest of the field. When the runners reached the homestretch, Tanner swung wide to give Ruthe more room to run on the inside lanes. In the last seconds of the race, the seven-time New Zealand national champion encouraged Ruthe as he powered toward the finish line.
Tanner won in 3:58.29, just ahead of Ruthe, who took more than three seconds off his previous personal best. Wall also improved his mile time, finishing third in 3:59.00.
‘This was probably my favourite goal that I’ve reached,’ Ruthe told Reuters. ‘I’ve definitely enjoyed this one the most, with all the people here supporting me. This has been the most set up for me, so I’m really happy to have gotten this one.’
The mile is the latest breakthrough for Ruthe this season. In February, he won the national title in the 3000m (7:56.18), becoming the youngest senior national champion in any event, according to The New Zealand Herald. That same month, he ran a personal best of 3:41.25 in the 1500m at the Sir Graeme Douglas International meet in Auckland.
He then carried this momentum into the New Zealand Championships on Sunday 9 March, where he tied with Tanner to achieve gold in the 1500m (3:44.31).
Since British trailblazer Roger Bannister became the first athlete to run a mile in under four minutes in 1954, more than 70 years ago, middle-distance runners from around the world have continued to chase this prestigious mark. In 1964, Jim Ryun from the US state of Kansas became the first high school boy to run break four minutes for the mile, with increasingly more juniors hitting this mark as the years have elapsed – and as shoe technology and training resources have improved.
Today, 18-year-old Cameron Myers of Australia holds the world junior (U20) record for the indoor mile, having clocked 3:47.48 at the Millrose Games in February.
