Kiwi teen athlete Sam Ruthe breaks two more NZ records in the US
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.
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"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."
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