High schooler runs sub-4 minute mile, breaks document that had stood since 1965

Gary Martin, a senior at Archbishop Wooden High School Warminster, Penn., broke a prestigious monitor and field file on the Pennsylvania Catholic League Championship on Monday by running a mile in below 4 minutes. Martin's run broke a record that had stood for almost 60 years.

Martin ran a mile in 3:57:98 without assistance from a pacer, breaking a record that had been set by Jim Ryun in 1965.

Ryun became the first excessive schooler to run a mile in underneath 4 minutes in 1964, then broke his own document 5 times earlier than graduating. Ryun's time of record was 3:58.3, a mark which Martin broke by lower than a second.

Martin is now the 14th American highschool athlete to break 4 minutes, and his time now ranks third all-time in outdoor runs. It ought to be famous, though, that Ryun was the only athlete to do so in excessive school-only competition, with out the use of a pacer.

Martin's run was a serious milestone he prepares to attend the University of Virginia upon commencement. Talking about his long-term objectives, Martin hopes to turn out to be an Olympic athlete.

"I'd like to think that it's not crazy for me to say that it's a dream now," Martin informed CBS News. "Obviously, I'm still an extended methods away and have some work to do, however I am confident in my skill. I have the dream, now I just should put the work in and chase it."

Based mostly on his beating Ryun's mark, Martin's goals might very effectively be in reach. After his file run within the Sixties, Ryun went on to compete in three Olympic finals, successful silver in 1500m through the 1968 Mexico Metropolis Olympics.