Ten-year-old sets world record at New York track meet

In case you missed it over the weekend, Jonah Gorevic ran a 5:01.55 mile at the Adidas Grand Prix meet in his home state of New York.

It might not seem like a big deal, given that the world record for that distance is 3:43.13. But there’s one more thing.

Gorevic is in the fifth grade.

His time on Saturday represented a world record for his age group, shaving almost four seconds off the previous mark.

“I just wanted to break it so badly,” the 10-year-old told reporters. “Two months and one day I’ve been chasing it.”

Apparently that’s a long time for someone who isn’t even old enough to compete on his school team. To make the achievement even more impressive, Gorevic plays soccer most of the week, leaving only two or three days for training on the track.

The New York meet featured another noteworthy event as Bohdan Bondarenko of Ukraine and Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar became the first men to clear 7 feet 10.5 inches in the same high jump competition. Despite a fast start, neither man broke the world record of 8 feet .5 inches in subsequent jumps.