Sixteen-year-old Cooper Lutkenhaus is poised to make history as the youngest American ever to compete at the World Athletics Championships when the global event heads to Tokyo next month (13 September).
The rising high school student from Justin, Texas, booked his spot by finishing second in the men’s 800m at the US Championships in Eugene, Oregon, on Sunday 3 August, clocking a blistering 1:42.27 behind winner Donovan Brazier.
What made his performance truly remarkable was the way it unfolded. Sitting in seventh place with just 200 metres remaining, Lutkenhaus unleashed a ferocious finishing kick, surging past a field stacked with seasoned professionals.
His time not only booked him a prestigious place in Tokyo, it also obliterated the previous U18 world best, set by Kenya’s Timothy Kitum at the London 2012 Olympics, by a staggering 1.1 seconds.
The mark now stands as the fourth-fastest ever run by an American man and the 18th-fastest in world history. Remarkably, less than a year ago, that time would have been good enough to claim the American record outright, evidence to just how extraordinary his run in Eugene truly was.
But who is the American teenager turning heads in the track world? Here are top facts to know about Cooper Lutkenhaus.