Teen prodigy Sam Ruthe sets another world age best at Melbourne

Teen mile prodigy Sam Ruthe has ended his southern hemisphere campaign with another world age best at the Maurie Plant Meet in Melbourne.

Ten days after he became the youngest to break four minutes for the mile, the 15-year-old clocked 3m 40.12s to take more than a second off his previous best over 1500 metres, finishing seventh in the strongest field he has faced so far.

Eighteen-year-old Aussie Cam Myers – a runner Ruthe has often been compared to during his breakout season in New Zealand – won the event in 3m 34.98s, with Kiwi Sam Tanner fifth in 3m 36.67s.

Myers sat behind the pacemaker for the first 800 metres, but took over the running, when the pace began to slip from Australian resident record speed.

Ruthe settled at the back of the field early, but began to work his way through the pack over the final two laps, eventually passing five athletes that entered the race with faster personal best times.

"It's really a no-lose situation for him," assessed coach Craig Kirkwood this week. "He'll run really fast or he'll blow up trying, and either way, it's a great learning experience for him."

Ruthe's previous best time of 3m 41.25s – then a world best for a 15-year-old – came at the Sir Graeme Douglas International in Auckland last month.

Last week, Tanner paced him to 3m 58.35s over the mile at Mt Smart Stadium, beating a benchmark previously held by Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who has since won two Olympic golds.

Ruthe will now contest a two-mile race against the best high school athletes in the United States at Arcadia, California, on April 12 – his 16th birthday.

By Grant Chapman of rnz.co.nz