A 15-year-old New Zealander becomes the youngest athlete to run a sub 4-minute mile

In this file photo ,athletes of Team New Zealand wave flags on the athletes' parade team boat along the Seine River during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024 in Paris, France. (Hannah Peters/Pool Photo via AP)

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealander Sam Ruthe became the youngest athlete to run a sub-four minute mile when he broke the mark Tuesday 24 days short of his 16th birthday.

Ruthe ran three minutes, 58.35 seconds in a paced mile at the Mt. Smart Stadium in Auckland. New Zealand Olympian Sam Tanner and Ben Wall, who were his pacemakers, also went under four minutes.

Ruthe is the first 15-year-old to run under the four-minute mark. Athletics New Zealand said Norway’s two-time Olympic champion Jackob Ingebrigtsen set the previous mark for youngest runner to go under four minutes for the mile when he ran 3:58.07 in 2017 when he 16 years, 250 days old.

The Associated Press