The middle-distance prodigy ran a record time of three minutes 58.35 seconds in wet conditions at Auckland’s Mount Smart Stadium.
Pacemakers Sam Tanner (3:58.29) and Ben Wall (3:59.00) also broke the four-minute barrier.
Ruthe has already broken a number of records in 2025, becoming New Zealand’s youngest senior national champion when he won the 3,000m – in another world-record time for his age – in February.
He proceeded to finish in a tie for first with Olympian Tanner to earn a share of the senior 1500m title in March.
“This was probably my favourite goal that I’ve reached,” Ruthe said after his latest record-breaking run.
“I’ve definitely enjoyed this one the most, with all the people here supportingThis has been the most set up for me, so I’m really happy to have gotten this one.”
The four-minute mile has long been a middle-distance running benchmark with Britain’s Sir Roger Bannister, aged 25, the first to beat that mark in 1954.
Norway’s two-time Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen ran the mile in 3:58.07 at the age of 16, while Australian Cam Myers’s 3:55.44 is currently the best time for a 16-year-old.
Maresca tried to find a solution to Jackson’s absence, not helped by Marc Guiu picking up an injury in the same match as his teammate, but it proved difficult. In the end, Pedro Neto showed some much-needed quality as the No.9 and the Portuguese attacker has done very well all things considered. While it is certainly not a long-term position for Neto, his ability to thrive in an unfamiliar position when his squad needed him the most is hugely admirable.
With attacking players being shifted around in Jackson’s absence, room was made for Christopher Nkunku, who was largely a bit-part member of the squad beforehand. In total this season, the 27-year-old forward has played 862 minutes in the Premier League and just short of 50% of those have come since Jackson was injured, in the space of five games.
However, the France international has hardly set the world alight in those matches. In truth, he didn’t need to, not to that extremity, but he needed to show something. Supporters have become increasingly frustrated with his work out of possession; an element of his game that is worlds apart from what Jackson offers unfortunately.
Maresca has said on numerous occasions that he believes the former RB Leipzig player’s best position is as the No.10 but we have seen very little evidence of that in this run of games. While the Frenchman has shone for the most part in the Conference League, he only has five direct goal contributions (three goals and two assists) in the Premier League this term – leaving many wondering if he is the right player for this Chelsea side.
Of course, it is worth noting, that this Chelsea attack has looked a shadow of what it was in the first half of the season. The absence of key players like Jackson and Noni Madueke has done very little to help that, but it is times like these where you need your key players, like the £52million signing who massively excited Chelsea fans at the time, to step up and be counted. Not only this, but at 26, he is one of the more senior players in an extremely young squad.
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