The 4-minute mile is one of those rare, magical feats in sports that needs no explanation.
No boy from North Carolina has ever broken four minutes in high school. No boy from North Carolina has ever come closer than Rocky Hansen ’23 did Saturday in New York.
Competing against professional runners, the Christ School senior lowered his personal-best time and state record to 4:00.84, placing fifth overall in the George Hirsch Mile Run at the world-famous Millrose Games indoor meet. He ran the final quarter-mile of the eight-lap race in 58.58 seconds.
Saturday’s race was shown live to a national audience on NBC and Peacock. Rocky was interviewed afterwards by CITIUS MAG.
"I just treated it as another race," Rocky told CITIUS MAG. "At the end of the day, that's what everything is about in this sport, going out there and seeing who's the best on the line that day."
Across the nation, only 18 high school runners have ever run a sub-4 minute mile. Rocky holds North Carolina's indoor and outdoor record for the distance (4:00.76). He has signed to run in college for Wake Forest University and was invited to the Millrose Games after winning last week's New Balance Indoor Grand Prix mile in Boston.