'I'd love to be an Olympian' Leeds boy, 8, races his way into the record books
Some children like to race their friends in a game of “tig” - but little Hugo Roth certainly proves he can set the pace.
The little eight-year-old from Leeds can run rings around the rest after dashing into the record books.
He’s believed to be the first ever eight-year-old in the world to run 5km in a parkrun race in under 20 minutes.
Hugo Roth broke the world record when he completed the Roberts Park parkrun, in Saltaire, in 19 minutes and 57 seconds.
Not only did he run the route in the fastest time for his age group, he also beat his personal best time by 55 seconds.
The achievement comes just a few months after Hugo became the fastest seven-year-old to run a parkrun back in May.
Hugo, who lives in Rawdon with his mum Tineke, dad Mark, and older brother Henry, is running-obsessed.
He runs constantly whether that be in games of ‘tig’ with friends, sprinting up hills, or training with his local running group Abbey Juniors.
However, his talent came as a big surprise to his family.
Hugo’s mum Tineke said: “A couple of years ago, I decided to go to parkrun to try and get my fitness back. I took Hugo and his big brother with me but we couldn’t keep up with Hugo.
“We could tell from the start that he was a natural runner.”
Parkrun is a free community running event that takes place in parks across the world every Saturday morning.
Participants of all ages and abilities are invited to run 5km together and track their time.
Hugo himself enjoys parkrun because of the energising music and chattiness of fellow runners at the start and finish line.
Last week, when Hugo found out that he had broken the record, he said that he felt “amazed”.
He said: “I was like, how did I just do that? I’m not even eight and a half.”
Tineke added: “Hugo doesn’t train for records, he just runs twice a week with his running club and does Parkrun once a month or so because he loves it.
“We were so happy for him and excited but also genuinely surprised.”
A keen young sportsman, Hugo also loves swimming, gymnastics, and rugby. With idols such as Mo Farah and the Brownlee brothers, he has his sights set high for the future.
Hugo said: “I’d love to be an Olympic runner, not even to get a medal but just going would be amazing.”
For anyone looking to start running, Hugo has this advice: “Do the pace that you think you can do and if you can’t hold it, go a bit slower, and just have fun.”