Tauranga teen Sam Ruthe says things are “starting to feel a bit crazy” after he became the youngest runner in history to break four minutes for the mile.
With a time of 3 minutes and 58.35 seconds, Ruthe became the first 15-year-old to break the benchmark for middle-distance runners at Auckland’s Mt Smart yesterday evening.
“It’s definitely sunk in a lot more than it had last night – it’s starting to feel a bit crazy,” he told Breakfast this morning.
Ruthe said his plan during the race was to sit behind training partner and two-time Olympian Sam Tanner.
“He’ll take me to sub-four,” Ruthe said.
Tanner won the race in 3 minutes and 58.29 seconds and shouted encouragement at Ruthe as they made their way down the home straight – eventually celebrating with the teenager after the race.
Ruthe said his friends and family around him “didn’t really care about the outcome”, which helped him stay in the right mindset before and during the race.
“There’s not too much pressure on me. They’ll still see me as the same person no matter what, so there’s not too much pressure on me.”
Ruthe said “all of my success” was down to friends like Tanner and his coach Craig Kirkwood.
“Having Sam [Tanner] there for training, showing me it’s possible, and then having Craig [Kirkwood], laying the base, showing me how to do it, all I do is do the work.”
Sir John Walker, the first person ever to run a mile in under 3.50 seconds, reached out to Ruthe before the race.
He said it was “so cool to have someone like that in contact with me, it feels really special”.
Also speaking to Breakfast was Ben Ruthe, Sam’s dad. He said it was “unimaginable” to see his son achieve what he did.
“In some ways as a fan of sport, it’s unbelievable really to watch a 15-year-old do what he did last night. It’s unimaginable really.
“When I was growing up in New Zealand, the under-20 record was 4.03 seconds, so to watch a 15-year-old do that was amazing.
“But then as a parent, really proud, just in terms of how he conducted himself and how he looks after his mates, and just seeing him celebrating with his coach and his friends, it’s just heartwarming.”
He said to help his son achieve in the sport, “You want to provide an environment where kids are happy to challenge themselves and take a risk, and it’s so cool".
Sam’s sister Daisy had competed just 15 minutes before, Ben described as “a bit of a dream, really”.
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