Sam Tanner launched himself into the consciousness of New Zealand sports fans at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. Photo / Photosport
Sam Tanner launched himself into the consciousness of New Zealand sports fans at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. Photo / Photosport
Sam Tanner isn't afraid of dreaming big.
Just a few weeks after the best season of his burgeoning career, the Kiwi track star is already focused on what comes next.
After a fix of surfing and maybe some other extreme sports, Tanner will ease back into heavy training, with twolong-standing national records on his mind.
He hopes to get a chance to better John Walker's iconic mark for the mile of 3.49.08, which has stood for 40 years — "that would be a pretty cool record to take down" — as well as Nick Willis' national 1500m benchmark of 3.29.66, set in 2015.
"You have to get to the right sort of race to attack those kinds of times," Tanner tells the Weekend Herald. "But for the next year, or next couple of years, those are the two big targets I'm trying to hit time-wise. And apart from that, [the goal] is to be more aggressive — especially at world champs — and put myself [in the mix] for a medal."
From any other 22-year-old, that might seem like misplaced bravado, but Tanner proved this year he is the real deal, New Zealand's most exciting middle distance prospect since Willis in the early 2000s.
Tanner produced a remarkable 3.31.34 at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, slashing more than three seconds off his personal best in the 1500m final, as he finished sixth in a strong field.
A few weeks later, he recorded the second-fastest time of his career with 3.33.67 to place eighth on his Diamond League debut in Switzerland.
Ahead of last year's Tokyo Olympics, Tanner was ranked 55th in the 1500m; now he is 14th.
"It's pretty exciting. It's kind of hard to comprehend what I've accomplished."
Tanner has come a long way. It wasn't so long ago he was driving a logging truck at Pukepine, the Te Puke sawmill owned by his father, during summer holidays or university breaks.
"I'd work there when I could, so I could afford fuel and to boost around the country to races," says Tanner. "Definitely it's been challenging at times; to do the training and still get the job done. But sometimes, I've been lucky enough to drive the log loader and just load the mill."
He still helps out there when he can but those days are mostly gone. Following two years at the University of Washington, Tanner is now a full-time athlete, inking a deal with German giant Puma.
His gratitude resonates throughout the interview — "I know how fortunate I am to be paid to travel around the world competing" — and he enjoyed his first year as a professional.
The biggest difference was the ability to chart his own course, with a less intense schedule, compared with the myriad competitions of United States college teams.
"I've had the freedom to choose the races that fit my schedule and the way I want to peak, the way we want to get [ranking] points, in the easiest and most efficient way."
It was also his first experience of life on the international track circuit, often mixing with athletes he had previously admired from a distance.
"I'm seeing people around me and I'm like, 'man, I've seen you race for years and seen you win these Diamond League races and world championship events, and I can't believe I'm here racing you and actually giving you a good margin'.
"It's pretty cool to race them but then to chat alongside them in the warm-up and cool-down; there is great camaraderie between the 1500m guys especially."
Tanner has also enjoyed the opportunity to see the world. There was the history and grandeur of London, the stunning alpine scenery of Lausanne and the opulence of Monaco, where he went swimming and snorkelling with champion Kiwi high jumper Hamish Kerr.
"I always like cars and high performance things and it was pretty cool to see some of the money thrown around in that city and how beautiful the Mediterranean Sea is."
Sam Tanner looked at home amongst some of the world's best runners at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. Photo / Photosport
Tanner has time on his side.
He is a late bloomer, taking the sport "seriously" only from 2017.
He did athletics as a kid "just for fun" and the odd high school cross-country, but was more interested in surfing, snowboarding and mountain biking.
"They were fun things but probably benefiting my aerobic fitness without even me knowing, developing me as an athlete."
His progression has been remarkable.
Five years ago, his 1500m personal best was 3.50.05 and he didn't better 3.38 until January last year.
He has the raw talent; now it is about building more volume and resilience into his legs, as his training workload doesn't yet compare to the elite.
"I was talking to [Olympic champion] Jakob Ingebrigtsen after the Diamond League and he was asking me about my training. I told him what sort of numbers I'm running and he was like, 'oh my goodness, you might be one of the most talented 1500m runners of the year'.
"And I was like, 'wow, thanks, bro'. Like it doesn't really matter because he is the champ, the Olympic gold medallist, and probably there's a little bit of intimidation there.
"But that was pretty encouraging coming from him. There is definitely room to grow in terms of volume and training, which is huge when it comes to strength and endurance."
Tanner arrived home last week, just before an email arrived from coach Craig Kirkwood with his latest training plan.
"It said 'surf Monday, surf Tuesday, surf Wednesday, surf Thursday, surf Friday'. I was pretty happy about that. There was a good swell, too."
Tanner is a surfing fanatic but he has had to set boundaries, given his athletic pursuits.
"It changes a little bit if [the surf] is cranking, but usually a week before [heavy training or racing], I'll stop surfing. It's just so that my shoulders stay fresh, because when you do speed work, you need those arms to work, otherwise you will go lactic pretty quickly."
Last week was his only full week off running, as he eases back into some "junk mileage", to keep the legs ticking over, ahead of a massive upcoming season, with the 2023 world championships in Budapest the major focus, as well as Diamond League and key events on the North American swing.
"I think I'm ranked top 10 in the world this year, as far as times go. So it's going to be pretty cool to step it up against the big boys and see what we've got, because the 1500 is anyone's race half the time."
