The 17-year-old Cooper Lutkenhaus won his first USA Track and Field Outdoor title
The dream season for teenage prodigy Cooper Lutkenhaus continues. In the 800m final at the USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships on Sunday, the 17-year-old athlete made a powerful charge with 200 meters to go to break away from the pack and win his first outdoor national title. Cooper Lutkenhaus finished in 1:43.48 min, ahead of Wes Ferguson (1:44.55) and Hobbs Kessler (1:45.00).
Cooper Lutkenhaus was riding in the middle of the pack for the first lap before finding a gap after the 400m mark and taking the lead on the straight. With 200 meters to go, Cooper Lutkenhaus accelerated sharply and quickly built a significant lead over the others, ultimately winning by more than a second.
“My plan was to attack with 200 meters to go”, said Cooper Lutkenhaus after the race. “I thought back to last year and said, with 200-250 meters to go, that’s when I’m going to push hard, and that’s what I did today”, added he.
Cooper Lutkenhaus has been virtually unstoppable in the 800m this season. He won the U.S. and world indoor titles, and outdoors, he won the Diamond League in Stockholm and Oslo in June. His first loss of the season came on July 3 at the Prefontaine Classic, where Brandon Miller edged him by about a second.
Reflecting on his first full season as a pro, Cooper Lutkenhaus gave himself a high rating.
“I would say the season was a 9.5 out of 10, if we were to use a scale. There were some things I really wanted to do this year that I narrowly missed, but I ran a nice personal best and won a couple of big races, so I can’t ask for much more”, said Cooper Lutkenhaus.
Cooper Lutkenhaus didn’t specify what he missed, but it’s worth noting that his personal best of 1:42.08 is not far off Bryce Hoppel’s American record of 1:41.67.
Any attempts to improve his record will have to wait until next season, though. Cooper Lutkenhaus is done competing this summer and will take a break from running before starting his senior year at Northwest High School in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
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