\u201cThe media, international opportunities and the world really opened up after that [four-minute mile record].\u201d<\/p>\n
He signed with Nike in April and shared on Instagram that it was an \u201chonour to be part of such a legendary brand\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m looking forward to what\u2019s ahead as part of the Nike family,\u201d the post read.<\/p>\n
The Year 11 Tauranga Boys\u2019 College student told the Bay of Plenty Times about the very first time he started running somewhat competitively.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was 5 years old and in my first three weeks at Pillans Point School in the school running race.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said he remembered loving it but also getting beaten by some of the other kids.<\/p>\n
In just the past year, running has brought Sam a Nike deal, world records and the chance to compete across the globe \u2013 from LA to Tokyo.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have always really enjoyed running, and I\u2019m lucky that hasn\u2019t really changed since.\u201d<\/p>\n
As a college student, with a couple of years still ahead of him, Sam said it was quite hard managing school and travel.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s mainly because all of the fastest times in the world are run in the opposite hemisphere and in the opposite season.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before breaking the four-minute mile, Sam first broke the 15-year-old world best for 3000m in November 2024, then lowered it twice more \u2013 running 7m 56.18s in February 2025.<\/p>\n
That victory also made him the youngest senior national champion<\/a> in any event.<\/p>\n He was 15, and the next youngest was 21.<\/p>\n At the New Zealand Track and Field Championships in Dunedin a month later, he tied with two-time Olympian Sam Tanner in the 1500m senior final.<\/p>\n Their 3m 44.31s dead-heat was unprecedented in national history.<\/p>\n \u201c\u2018It\u2019s just running\u2019 is something my Nan says a bit, and I think that kind of sums it [a record] up. I\u2019m pretty relaxed about those things.\u201d<\/p>\n In July 2025, he continued rewriting the history books, some would say he is making a habit of it.<\/p>\n He lowered his own national Under-17 and U18 1500m records<\/a> and ran his first sub-3m 40s race in the process, Athletics New Zealand reported.<\/p>\n Sam raced in the Sound Running Sunset Tour Men\u2019s 1500m in Los Angeles and finished fifth with a time of 3m 49.17s.<\/p>\n \u201cI know what I can control and that I can trust my coach [Craig Kirkwood] to execute my plan, and that is enough, whatever the result.\u201d<\/p>\n His time also came within 0.4s of Sam Tanner\u2019s U19 and U20 New Zealand records.<\/p>\n It came a week after he ran another sub-4m mile at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon.<\/p>\n \u201cMy ultimate goal is to get international wins against the best in the world, and I know there is a lot of work to do to get there.\u201d<\/p>\n Sam told the Bay of Plenty Times in September that there were three world records for 16-year-olds he wanted to break. <\/p>\n \u201cThe NZ Secondary Schools record for 1500m has stood for 39 years, so I\u2019d like to see if I could try and get that.\u201d<\/p>\n And that he did. <\/p>\n Sam broke the New Zealand secondary schools\u2019 1500m record<\/a> on December 6, stopping the clock at 3min 38.62sec in a semi-final at the New Zealand Secondary Schools Track and Field Championships. <\/p>\n He beat the previous mark, set by former Commonwealth Games runner Richard Potts in 1989, by eight seconds.<\/p>\nSam Ruthe after becoming youngest person ever to break the four-minute mile barrier. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n