WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Taking the athletics world by storm, young New Zealander Sam Ruthe became the youngest individual to complete a mile in less than four minutes. This remarkable achievement was recorded at the Mt. Smart Stadium in Auckland, where Ruthe crossed the finish line in an impressive 3 minutes, 58.35 seconds, a mere 24 days ahead of his 16th birthday.
Guided by seasoned athletes, New Zealand Olympian Sam Tanner and Ben Wall, who acted as his pacemakers, Ruthe successfully shattered the four-minute barrier. In this historic feat, both Tanner and Wall also managed to complete the race in under four minutes, cementing the event as a significant athletic accomplishment.
With this milestone, Ruthe has entered the record books as the first-ever 15-year-old to run a mile in less than four minutes. Athletics New Zealand highlighted how this achievement redefined records, surpassing the previous benchmark set by Norway’s two-time Olympic champion, Jakob Ingebrigtsen. Ingebrigtsen had held the record since 2017 when he achieved a mile in 3:58.07 at 16 years and 250 days old.
