15-Year-Old Sam Ruthe Breaks 4-Minute Mile Record, Makes History

WRITTEN BY LEE MAGINNIS

15 year old Sam Ruthe (right) breaks the New Zealand U20 Mile record and becomes the youngest person in the world to run a sub-4 mile.

When Sam Ruthe ran 3m 58.35s performance at Auckland's Mt Smart Stadium on Wednesday, he became the youngest person in the world to have officially broken the 4 minute barrier.  

Back in school today, Ruthe crossed the line, with barely a celebration.

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.

His training partner is Sam Tanner, the two time Olympian.  Tanner set the pace for the record attempt despite it meaning his own U20 record would go.  The cold and wet conditions at Mount Smart Stadium failed to detail the effort.

Next up for the training partners is a stern test in a high quality field in Melbourne this Friday.