Ian O’Riordan: What’s behind this inexplicable rise of the teenage running phenoms?

Roll over Jakob Ingebrigtsen. There were enough inexplicably fast times by a new breed of boy racers in the last weekend alone to make the young Norwegian appear like a slouch. Even if he might beg to differ. Okay, Ingebrigtsen isn’t that young any more. At age 25, his best years and fastest times may well be ahead of him, but most of the middle-distance records he set as a teenager have now been blown away. It won’t be long before this latest bunch of running phenoms start coming after his championship titles too. Say hello to Sam Ruthe. Before last Saturday’s indoor meeting in Boston University, it’s fair to assume Ruthe’s extraordinary talent was largely unknown outside his native New...