A 9-year-old Largo boy stole the show at Sunday’s Gasparilla Half Marathon by setting a world record.



“It was awesome,” Will Stone said.



Back at Oakhurst Elementary in Largo this week, Will Stone’s accomplishment is the talk of his school.

"The races are really what I train for, and that’s what I like the best, 'cause all the people cheering you on, it just makes you go faster,” Will said.



Stone started running at age 5. He pounds the pavement at least three times a week.

In only his second half-marathon, he broke his age group’s world record by four seconds, finishing the 13.1 miles in 1:41:07.



“We saw the national record and we’re like, 'We can beat this,'" Will said. "And my dad looked up the world record and he’s like, 'If we work really hard, we can beat this too.'"



This is only the beginning of Stone’s running career. Every time he laces up his shoes and takes off, he’s running down his dream to become an Olympic gold medalist.



“It’s, like, a thing not many people can achieve, and it feels good that you’re outside and other people are just sitting on the couch," he said.



Hard work isn’t lost on the young guy. His goal is to run marathons, compete in triathlons and, hopefully, someday take part in the Olympics.



Will ran with his dad most of the race, but took off with about three miles to go and finished a minute ahead of him.



