Run, Sam, run!奔跑吧，萨姆！

对他来说，与众多了不起的运动员同时站在起跑线上，已经是梦想成真了。

Olympic athlete， former surfer， andKiwi runner—Sam Tanner is all of thesethings and more. Now 23， the New Zea⁃lander has already recorded the second⁃fastest time in the country’s history in the1，500⁃meter race. His personal best camein the Tokyo Olympics in the summer of2021.“

Standing on the start line and look⁃ing around， seeing so many incredible ath⁃letes was a dream come true，”Tanner toldme in a recent interview.

Tanner’s New Zealand roots run deep.He is a member of the Māori， the firstpeople to settle this small island country inthe Pacific Ocean. When asked his advicefor aspiring athletes， Tanner said，“It’sreally important when kids are doing sportto do a variety of activities. Its importantfor kids to have a balanced lifestyle.”

Despite Tanner’s hard work and hardtraining， he didn’t make the top three inthe 2022 Commonwealth Games. Still， heproved he was a“winner”in the eyes ofNew Zealanders when he immediately con⁃gratulated the first⁃place finisher， OliverHoare of Australia， with a pat on the back.

Tanner is now ready for even moresuccess in his running career. He trainsseveral hours each week.“It’s not about per⁃forming. It’s about knowing I’ve reached mybest，”he said.

The runner is proud to represent hiscountry doing what he loves the most.“Itwas amazing to be able to wear the NewZealand singlet（运动背心）at the Olym⁃pics，”he said.

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What’s Tanner’s advice for aspiring athletes？