Sam Ruthe’s run at the Potts Classic in January broke the under-17, U18, U19, and U20 national 800m records. Photo: Kerry Marshall / www.photosport.nz
Runner Sam Ruthe has officially rewritten the record book, as he now holds every under-20 accolade possible.
Having already claimed record times from 800-5000m, there was one distance evading his near-perfect resume, the 3000m.
However, Ruthe completed the feat on Monday afternoon (NZT), as he comfortably eclipsed the time of 7:54.30 set by Liam Black in 2021, shaving more than 10 seconds off the record at the Saucony Battle in Boston.
Ruthe crossed the finish in 7:43.16, coming second behind American Ernest Cheruiyot.
Ruth shot out of the blocks quickly and was just .03 seconds behind Cheruiyot at the first 200m.
He dropped back to third after 800m, before he and Cheruiyot were separated by 0.24 seconds with 400m to go.
Ruth would produce his slowest 200m on the final stretch, though it was still more than fast enough to take the record.
Boston University is a happy running ground for Ruthe, the site of his historic 3:48 mile.
Ruthe became the youngest athlete to ever run a mile quicker than 3m 50s and took the New Zealand men's record from Sir John Walker, which he held for 44 years.
Sam Ruthe's complete crown of under-20 records:
- 800m - 1:45.86
- 1000m - 2:17.82
- 1500m - 3:33.25
- Mile - 3:48.88 (NZ Mile Record)
- 3000m - 7:43.16
- 5000m - 13:40.48
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