Sam Ruthe, right, crosses the finish line next to Sam Tanner to become the youngest person ever to break the four-minute mile barrier. Photo / Photosport
Sam Ruthe, right, crosses the finish line next to Sam Tanner to become the youngest person ever to break the four-minute mile barrier. Photo / Photosport
Sam Ruthe admits he still pinches himself almost every time he hits the track.
That’s because the teenage running phenomenon holds nearly every New Zealand national record for distances between 800-5000m in under-16s through to U20s. The only one he hasn’t got is the 3000m U20 record.
On Saturday atthe Tauranga Twilight event, Ruthe ran the 1000m distance in 2m 17.82s to break the U16 and U17 world records in the distance, while also shattering multiple New Zealand age-grade records including the U20s and U19s.
His times are on the cusp of surpassing feats set by some of New Zealand’s greatest middle-distance runners, with his 1000m effort coming within 1.2s of the legendary Peter Snell’s resident record of 2m 16.6s which was set just weeks after his Olympic triumphs in Tokyo in 1964.
John Walker holds the New Zealand 1000m record with a time of 2m 16.57s, set in 1980.
To be so young and competing against times of legends of the sport, Ruthe admits it’s a surreal feeling.
“It doesn’t seem realistic to me,” Ruthe told the Herald. “I’m always thinking how am I actually so close to these times?
“I definitely come up with a lot of excuses for myself why I have way more of an advantage over them, just like how they would have ran with way less technology back then.
“That definitely makes me think about it a lot, but I’m really stoked.”
His performance in Tauranga highlights his enormous potential as the previous U16 record was set in 1984 by Johan Boakes when he ran a 2m 20.37s, while the U17 record was 2m 18.70s set by Steffen Oehme.
Ruthe, who comes from a line of successful runners, said there was a little extra pressure competing on his home track, but he was pleased to give the fans something to cheer about.
“I train there every day, so it’s always hard trying to have a good race at your local track just because it’s not the same feeling as going away and racing,” Ruthe said.
Sam Ruthe after racing the 1000m at the Tauranga Twilight event. Photo / Sally Valois
“I wasn’t feeling like I was about to do anything special, but the community and the crowd down there just made it so much better and it was awesome.
“I knew that some people came down just to watch me race and I did feel like I better race good because all these people have put in this time to come watch me race, but I just thought I’ll just give it my best crack and that’s all that I can do.”
Ruthe has a big month on the cards, which starts at the Potts Classic in Hastings on January 17.
There, he will aim to beat his personal best in the 800m, which is currently 1m 46.81s, a target he achieved in November at the New Zealand Secondary Schools Track and Field Championships, also at Hastings.
Ruthe is aiming to shave nearly a second off that time, but says that will be a big challenge.
Following that he will head to the United States to compete in some indoor events in Boston and North Carolina alongside training partner Sam Tanner.
