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Kiwi teen stuns athletics world by becoming youngest ever to run sub 4-minute mile
Ian Chadband, AAP • March 20th, 2025 7:30 am
Photo: Photosport
Across the Tasman, New Zealand is celebrating a young athletics phenom who's run his way into athletics folklore.
At the tender age of 15, Ruthe became the only lad of his age - and the youngest athlete in history - to run a sub four-minute mile on Wednesday, some 71 years since Roger Bannister first achieved an athletic landmark once fondly believed to have been impossible.
Ruthe, who looks like another great New Zealand miling superstar in the making like Jack Lovelock, Peter Snell and John Walker, smashed the landmark by two seconds at Mount Smart Stadium in Auckland, helped to a time of three minute 58.35 seconds by pacemakers.
Ruthe, who finished second in the race, beat his previous mark of 4:01.72 achieved at the Cooks Classic in Whanganui in January.
The previous record for youngest sub four-minute miler was held by the Norwegian superstar Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who clocked 3:58.07 at 16 years 8 months 8 days eight years ago and has since gone on to become a double Olympic champion.
Sam Ruthe | Photo: Photosport
Next up, Ruthe, who achieved the record-breaking run 24 days short of his 16th birthday, will doubtless be after the record for the best time ever run by a 16-year-old - the 3:55.44 clocked by Canberra's Cam Myers, who's since gone on to achieve his own remarkable feats.
Canberran Myers, now 18, has broken the under-20 indoor world mile record twice this year already, clocking his latest landmark of 3:47.48 in the Wanamaker Mile in New York in February - the first time a teenager had broken 3:48 for the mile, either indoors or outdoors.
Now it's Kiwi Ruthe's turn to stagger the athletics world.
"This was probably my favourite goal that I've reached. I've definitely enjoyed this one the most, with all the people here supporting me," said the lad from the North island harbourside city of Tauranga.
"This has been the most set up for me, so I'm really happy to have gotten this one."
Ruthe, like Myers, has been creating athletics headlines all summer, having shattered the age-15 world best for 3000m in November, and having lowered it twice more, most recently clocking 7:56.18 at the New Zealand Championships to become the youngest ever senior male national champ in any discipline.
