Kiwi middle distance runner Sam Ruthe has broken two New Zealand records for the 1500m race with a fifth-place finish at an event in Los Angeles.
The 16-year-old lowered his own national under-17 and under-18 1500m records with the performance during the Sound Running Sunset Tour at Occidental College’s Jack Kemp Stadium.
He came within 0.4 seconds of Sam Tanner’s under-19 and under-20 New Zealand records and his time of 3:39.17s marked his first sub 3:40 performance.
Competing in the top section of the race, Ruthe remained in contention from the start.
“I went out pretty hard,” he said.
“With one lap to go the pace lights were right beside me, and I thought I was feeling quite good, but over the last lap it felt like the pace light sped up.”
Less than half a second separated second through fifth place, with Ben Allen of Empire Elite Track Club taking the win with a strong kick at the finish.
Ruthe’s performance in Los Angeles concluded a short US racing stint.
Just a week earlier, he ran a sub-four-minute mile at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon.
He said there was a learning curve when racing against more senior athletes.
“They obviously race a bit smarter. Having a field this deep is obviously handy — there won’t be as many breaks in the line.”
