Sixteen-year-old Cooper Lutkenhaus made United States history at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Sunday, Aug. 3.
And all it took was dialing in some old middle school tactics.
Lutkenhaus, who attends Northwest High School in Justin, Texas, made a miraculous comeback at the 800-meter final in Eugene, Oregon, to become the youngest American ever to qualify for the World Track and Field Championships. The rising high school junior was in seventh place with 200 meters to go before rising to runner-up with his time of 1:42:27.
‘I’ve always kind of had a natural spot with 200 (meters) to go,’ Lutkenhaus told reporters after the race. ‘Ever since middle school that’s kind of been the spot I’ve really pushed from. Kind of just decided to go back to middle school tactics with 200 to go and really just give everything I had left.’
Lutkenhaus’ time shattered the previous U18 world record, which was set by Kenya’s Timothy Kitum at the 2012 London Olympics, by 1.1 seconds.
Donovan Brazier, a 28-year-old from Grand Rapids, Michigan, won the race with a personal-best time of 1:42:16.
‘I saw someone coming up and I was like, ‘dang, this could be the high schooler,” Brazier told reporters after the race. This kid’s phenomenal. I’m glad that I’m 28 and maybe have a few more years left in me, hopefully won’t have to deal with him in his prime because that dude is definitely pretty special.’
Lutkenhaus’ time not only tops the best for a youth runner ever, but it’s also one of the fastest by a U.S. man in history. His time ranks as the fourth-fastest ever by a U.S. man and 18th-fastest ever in the world.
The previous record for youngest American at track and field worlds was set in 2013 by Mary Cain, who ran at 17 years and 3 months old. Lutkenhaus will shatter the record by youngest U.S. man at the worlds, which is held by Erriyon Knighton, who ran at 18 years and 5 months in 2023.
Lutkenhaus’ time was so impressive that it would have been the American record before Aug. 10, 2024. Bryce Hoppel set the mark at 1:41.67 after finishing fourth at the 2024 Paris Olympics. There are only three times better than Lutkenhaus’ time from Aug. 3 in American history.
Lutkenhaus now sets his sights on the world championships in Tokyo in September, where he will be joined by Brazier and Hoppel. The high schooler will certainly make plenty of headlines again at the world’s brightest stage.