Nobody expected a teenager to survive the 800m rounds at a USATF track nationals–let alone leave with a medal. But on Sunday in Eugene, Ore., 16-year-old Cooper Lutkenhaus did exactly that, storming to a jaw-dropping 1:42.27 to claim silver and break the U18 world record.
The performance also qualified him for September’s World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, where he’ll become the youngest athlete in history to represent Team USA at worlds.
Doha 2019 world champion Donavan Brazier won the race in a personal best of 1:42.16, with American record holder Bryce Hoppel taking third in 1:42.49.
The previous U18 record of 1:43.37 was set by Ethiopia’s Mohammed Aman in 2011; the closest an athlete has come to challenging the mark is 2024 Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi, who ran 1:43.76 in 2021.
For Lutkenhaus, the breakthrough was staggering: more than three seconds faster than his personal best, launching him to the top of the global U20 rankings this year and making him the sixth-fastest runner in the world this year overall. The Justin, Texas, native’s mark also demolished the nine-year-old North American U20 record of 1:43.55–belonging, coincidentally, to Brazier himself–and places him second on the world U20 all-time list.
The tenth-grader had already smashed expectations on Friday by advancing to the final, finishing runner-up finish to Hoppel in his semi-final in 1:45.57–just shy of his own 1:45.45 high school record.
“This kid is phenomenal,” Brazier told media post-race. “I’m glad I’m 28 and maybe only have a few years left in me–I hopefully won’t have to deal with him in his prime because that dude is definitely pretty special.” Brazier’s gold-medal run was a story in itself: the Michigan native had only returned to racing this season after a three-year hiatus due to injury, and Sunday’s time was his fastest since his world-championship-winning 1:43.55 in 2019.
See here for full results from the 2025 USATF championships.
