Fans Left Stunned by 16-Year-Old's Reaction to Smashing World Record

Fans have been left stunned after a teenage runner smashed a world record which stood for more than 40 years.

Sam Ruthe, from New Zealand, is a young rising star of middle and long-distance running in athletics and at the age of 16, is destined to become one of the all-time greats.

Ruthe holds numerous national records for various age groups, including the New Zealand under-20 record for the 800m with a time of 1:45.86 set earlier this year.

In 2025, Ruthe set the national under-18 record for the 1500m with a time of 3:38.62 and did the same in the 3000m when he ran 7:56.18.

The teenager also holds the national under-20 record in New Zealand for the 5000m with a time of 13:40.48.

Taking you around BU for two magic laps 🪄🤯

You just witnessed history as Sam Ruthe, at just 16-years-old, runs a 3:48.88 mile at the BU Terrier Classic.#BUTerrierClassic and #CollegeTF coverage presented by @Saucony pic.twitter.com/C5H4caYD0G

— FloTrack (@FloTrack) January 31, 2026

Now, Ruthe has another record under his belt after he set an under-18 world record for running the mile.

Ruthe ran a time of 3:48.88 at an indoor meet held at the John Thomas Terrier Classic at Boston University.

And in doing so, he not only smashed the under-18 world record but beat the New Zealand men's record, which was set in 1982 by Sir John Walker and stood at 3:49.08.

The race was Ruthe's first on an indoor track as they are not present in New Zealand.

Speaking to the track broadcast via RNZ, Ruth reflected on his win.

"When I was coming into this race, I was expecting to run sub 3:55. I wasn't really expecting a [personal best]," he said.

"I flew out here three days ago from New Zealand, 50-hour travel, my legs were feeling heavy a bit before this. I think I can be running faster, but I am super stoked with that.

"To come here and run so fast so early on, it just makes me love indoor tracks. I want to come here as much as possible."

As Ruthe said, he felt he could have recorded a faster time had it not been for the impact of travelling for some 50 hours between New Zealand and America.

Fans have watched the moment that Ruthe crosses the finish line in Boston and commented on social media that the teenager does not even look tired, despite setting new records.

One wrote: "Looked like he just completed a casual rep of a track workout, not a 3:48 mile. Amazing."

Another fan posted: "I just walked upstairs to sit at my desk and look at X. I am slightly more winded than this guy looks at the finish line."

One fan said: "Chat is this real? My boy isn’t even winded."

And another posted: "You’d have to average 16 mph to do this. Insane."