New Zealander Sam Ruthe becomes youngest to break 4-minute mile

New Zealand athlete Sam Tanner has made history, becoming the youngest and the first runner at the age of 15 to break the 4-minute mile. He achieved this feat at the Mount Smart Stadium in Auckland, finishing with a record-breaking time of 2 seconds under the mark.

The middle-distance running prodigy completed the race in 3 minutes and 58.35 seconds, with pacers Sam Tanner and Ben Wall also finishing in under 4 minutes. "This is probably my favorite personal goal I've achieved," Root said. "With everyone's support, I really enjoyed the experience. The preparation was very thorough, and I'm very happy to have achieved this result."

In February of this year, Root had already broken the age group world record in the 3000 meters with a time of 7 minutes and 56.18 seconds, becoming the youngest national champion in New Zealand history. He also tied for the 1500-meter title with Tanner, a Paris Olympian, with a time of 3 minutes and 44.31 seconds.

Root broke the record with 24 days to go before his 16th birthday. His previous best was 4 minutes and 01.72 seconds, set at the Cooks Classic in Whanganui in January. The previous record holder was Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who ran 3 minutes and 58.07 seconds at the age of 16 and is a two-time Olympic champion and holder of three world records. Australian Cam Myers currently holds the best time for the 16-year-old age group, at 3 minutes and 55.44 seconds.

The 4-minute mile is considered a near-mythical benchmark in middle-distance running. In 1954, Sir Roger Bannister of Great Britain first officially broke this record at the Iffley Road track at Oxford University, with his compatriots Chris Chataway and Chris Brasher serving as pacers. A month later, Australia's John Landy became the second person to break the 4-minute barrier, running 3 minutes and 57.9 seconds in Finland. Both ran under 4 minutes at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Vancouver. Bannister won the race in 3 minutes and 58.8 seconds, and Landy finished second in 3 minutes and 59.6 seconds.

The current world record is 3 minutes and 43.13 seconds, set by Moroccan legend Hicham El Guerrouj in Rome in 1999. No woman has yet run a sub-4-minute mile, with Kenya's Faith Kipyegon holding the women's world record of 4 minutes and 07.64 seconds.