American athlete John Reniewicki, along with three other runners, broke a 40-year-old record in the men's 1,500 meters on Saturday at the 114th Drake Relays.
The previous mark of 3:38.27 was set in 1984 by American Steve Scott in the 1,500m at the Drake Relays, an annual athletics classic at Des Moines, Iowa, the United States.
Reniewicki won the 1,500m in 3:36.44 to snap the old mark, followed by runner-up Vince Ciatti by 0.13 of a second.
Ciatti (3:36.57), Abe Alvarado (3:37.56) and Kenya's Justine Kipkoech (3:37.78) also eclipsed Scott's record.
Drake Relay's tweet on April 28 about John Reniewicki. /@DrakeRelays
"Oh, wow," Reniewicki said when told he broke Scott's 1984 Relays record. "It certainly wasn't in my mind. I'm certainly happy with the record. But I wouldn't go so far as to comparing myself to someone like Steve Scott."
"Breaking a record that old at a meet this historic just makes it so much more fun," said the 28-year-old athlete.
On April 23, Reniewicki finished second to Ciattei during the U.S One Mile Championship in downtown Des Moines.
"I could see him on the videoboard (on the backstretch). I knew he would be coming," Reniewicki said. "He's extremely strong, coming in extremely fit. I'm sure he wanted that double."
"Getting in reps like this is so important for development," Reniewicki said. "That's important in a year like this. The top three (at Trials) are the only positions that matter."
(With input from AFP)
(Cover: A view of the Blue Oval track at the Drake Relays. /Drake Relays)