Fresh off his world-record sub-four-minute mile, New Zealand teen running sensation Sam Ruthe is already looking ahead to his next challenge next weekend.
Ruthe, 15, became the youngest runner to break four minutes for the mile with a 3m 58.35s performance at Auckland's Mt Smart Stadium on Wednesday.
The cold and wet conditions did little to deter the teen as he became the first 15-year-old to duck under the gold standard benchmark for middle-distance running.
As he crossed the finished line, Ruthe nonchalantly raised his hands and barely allowed himself a grin as if there was never any doubt.
But as his father, Ben, told Morning Report, the usually 'shy' Sam's crowning moment is still sinking in, even for him.
15 yr old track athlete Sam Ruthe becomes the youngest person ever to break the magic 4 minute mile barrier. Wednesday night at Mt Smart Stadium 19 March 2025. Photo: Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz
"It's a little bit surreal, but he actually seemed to have handled it pretty well and just I'm just proud of him for the way that he handles the amount of pressure…he's always been quite a shy kid," he said.
"For him to be thrust in front of the camera and perform, reasonably well, is really pleasing to see as a parent."
Ben said the less-than-ideal conditions is only one facet of potential hiccups facing any runner, with incorrect pacing or even just tripping enough to derail any attempt.
He thanked Sam's training partner and two-time Olympian Sam Tanner for not only setting the pace, but doing so to break his own record.
Sam Ruthe becomes the youngest person ever to break the magic four-minute mile barrier as pace setter Sam Tanner looks on. Photo: Photosport / Andrew Cornaga
"Sam Tanner's just an incredible human being, really. He's an Olympics semi-finalist, and Olympics semi-finalists don't pace people - they're the ones that get paced. And for him to donate his time and his effort and his goodwill, and he's just such a great mentor to Sam."
"Two and a half years ago, Sam was an intermediate kid repping at the Aims Games cross country in Tauranga and Sam Tanner came down just to visit them and sign autographs, which was pretty amazing.
"For them to be teammates and for Sam Tanner to come out and help the way that he did. I mean, he literally paced Sam to break his own New Zealand under 20 record by point 0.6s last night. He won the race, but he lost his record."
15 yr old track athlete Sam Ruthe becomes the youngest person ever to break the magic 4 minute mile barrier as pace setter Sam Tanner looks on. Photo: Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz
Sam returns to school on Friday but already has his sights on his next race - the Maurie Plant Meet in Melbourne next weekend.
"It's absolutely huge," Ben said. "The Commonwealth Games gold medallist in it. Sam Tanner and his quality, he's only ranked to fifth in the race.
"There are nine guys that run 3m 34s for 1500 or quicker or equivalent over a mile. Sam's best is 3m 41s, so to be in a field of those guys, they're giants, they're full-time professional men in their mid-20s that train at altitude and have had a decade of training under the belts. So that's going to be one hell of a test, but he's keen to jump in and give it a whirl."
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