Seven Moments From 2022 That Shocked, Awed And Inspired Us

Photo Credit: New York MileSplit

1. Five Boys Break The Four-Minute Mile Barrier In The Same Season

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The Particulars: Colin Sahlman l Gary Martin l Connor Burnsl Simeon Birnbaum l Rheinhardt Harrison

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Simply put, 2022 was the year of sub-4. 

Never before had this many young men broken that barrier. 

Maybe this was the year when the door completely opened. Maybe this was the beginning of a new frontier in the mile? We do know this: Before 2022, only 12 high school athletes had broken that mark. 

After the year was over? Five more had accomplished the feat. 

Here's how sub-4 looks by decade now: 1960s (3x), 1970s (0x), 1980s (0x), 1990s (0x), 2000s (1x), 2010s (6x), 2020s (7x). 

* Hoka Festival of Miles Screenshot

Related: 

Why are we seeing sub-4 more often? These coaches explain

Some particulars were reached this past spring.

Archbishop Wood's Gary Martin became the fastest miler ever in a high school-only race (aka no pacer), surpassing Jim Ryun's 57-year-old record. 

Colin Sahlman was the first to achieve the feat in February, hitting sub-4 indoors at the Dr. Sander Columbia Challenge. He later went sub-4 at the Prefontaine Classic again. 

Two juniors made the list later in June: Missouri native Connor Burns did so at the Festival of Miles (against Martin) and South Dakota's Simeon Birnbaum later added another at Brooks PR -- historically, a very hard place to do that as a high schooler. Birnbaum became the youngest American to ever run sub-4, just days before his 17th birthday. 

Coincidentally enough, Burns and Birnbaum both just signed with Oregon. 

The last to reach the list? His name is Rheinhardt Harrison. He crossed sub-4 before enrolling at Oregon, and practically did so on a track by himself.