Excessive schooler runs sub-4 minute mile, breaks record that had stood since 1965

Gary Martin, a senior at Archbishop Wood Excessive Faculty Warminster, Penn., broke a prestigious monitor and area file at the Pennsylvania Catholic League Championship on Monday by running a mile in under 4 minutes. Martin's run broke a report that had stood for almost 60 years.

Martin ran a mile in 3:57:98 with out the help of a pacer, breaking a record that had been set by Jim Ryun in 1965.

Ryun grew to become the first excessive schooler to run a mile in beneath four minutes in 1964, then broke his own file five occasions earlier than graduating. Ryun's time of report was 3:58.3, a mark which Martin broke by lower than a second.

Martin is now the 14th American high school athlete to break 4 minutes, and his time now ranks third all-time in outside runs. It needs to be noted, though, that Ryun was the one athlete to do so in high school-only competition, without the use of a pacer.

Martin's run was a major milestone he prepares to attend the University of Virginia upon commencement. Speaking about his long-term goals, Martin hopes to change into an Olympic athlete.

"I'd like to assume that it is not crazy for me to say that it is a dream now," Martin told CBS News. "Clearly, I'm still an extended methods away and have some work to do, but I'm assured in my potential. I've the dream, now I simply need to put the work in and chase it."

Primarily based on his beating Ryun's mark, Martin's dreams could very effectively be in attain. After his document run within the Nineteen Sixties, Ryun went on to compete in three Olympic finals, winning silver in 1500m through the 1968 Mexico Metropolis Olympics.