The 16-year-old middle-distance runner just didn't have it. Not on this night. His kick, the one that helped him shatter all sorts of 800-meter records in this breakout season, wasn't there.
Maybe it was the magnitude of the stage for Cooper Lutkenhaus, the newly turned pro who didn't advance out of the first round Tuesday at the world track and field championships in Tokyo.
There were more than 35,000 fans packed inside Japan's National Stadium — and Lutkenhaus was lined up against some of the best
runners from eight different countries.
Disappointed to be going home so soon? Sure.
Did it overshadow his season in the slightest? Not at all. Showing wisdom beyond his years, Lutkenhaus explained his early exit — a seventh-place showing in his opening heat — in terms any runner can understand.
“It just wasn’t there today,” Lutkenhaus said.
The sendoff was spectacular: A cheer squad leading the way through a high-school hallway packed with classmates and a marching band following close behind. That was the grand farewell Lutkenhaus received at Northwest High School in Justin, Texas before taking off for worlds.
His dream season, though, hit a speed bump Tuesday when he was pushed into lane two — adding extra distance to the two-lap race — and couldn't climb his way into the mix. Simply a learning experience.
“Leaving the stadium with my head held high,” Lutkenhaus said after the race. “I don’t really have any regrets from that race. You’re going to have bad races occasionally.”
Lutkenhaus became the talk of track last month at U.S. championships after finishing in 1 minute, 42.27 seconds, which broke the under-18 world record.
Not only did he earn a trip to Tokyo — he's the youngest American to qualify for worlds — but that blistering time paved the way to going pro and signing a deal with Nike.
Through all of his new-found fame, he’s still the same, level-headed kid he’s always been. The one whose favorite movie is “Elf” (he was born Dec. 19 so he likes holiday movies), who plays video games (“College Football 25” is his current choice), enjoys swimming at his buddy's pool, makes spontaneous food runs with friends and passionately roots for the Texas Longhorns.
"It’s just things that normal kids do,” he said in a phone interview with The Associated Press. “But there’s just a ‘1:42’ next to the name.”
Lutkenhaus has watched replays of his breakout race at U.S. championships “a decent amount of times,” he said with a laugh.
He felt no pressure that day.
That’s why the day before his big race he went to Track Town Pizza in Eugene, Oregon, and had a few slices of the pie called the “5,000 meters." The toppings include Canadian bacon, salami, pepperoni, mushrooms, red onions and sausage.
“Definitely not the best option for a pre-race meal,” he said.
Or maybe it was?
He used a late surge to propel himself into second place, just behind winner Donavan Brazier. It was the fourth-fastest 800 time by an American runner of any age. Lutkenhaus' time also eclipsed the world under-18 mark of 1:43.37 that Mohammed Aman of Ethiopia set 14 years ago.
“It's crazy. It’s still crazy to think about now. It was crazy in the moment,” Lutkenhaus said of his performance. “It’s always going to be crazy to think about, even when I’m older."
He comes from a family of athletes — his mom, Tricia, was an accomplished runner in high school. His dad, George, competed at the University of North Texas before becoming a coach and stepping into the role of director of athletics at Cooper's high school. His older brother, Andrew, is a runner for Tulsa while his oldest brother, George Jr., swam at Adams State in Colorado.
Cooper was the kid who shined in all sports. He was a quarterback on the football field and the type of basketball player who would dive after every loose ball.
Around eighth grade, with Lutkenhaus setting all sorts of records, the family sat down for a candid conversation. Perhaps it was time to focus on track.
“We just said, ‘There’s something here that we don’t want to screw up,'" his father recounted.
Even after he won Nike outdoor nationals in 1:45.45 earlier this summer, turning pro wasn’t really on the radar.
Then, he clocked that time at U.S. championships.
“We already had a plan set out before the 1:42,” Lutkenhaus explained. “We’re going to go to college. We’re going to do this, and then the 1:42 kind of messed it up a little bit. It just changed a lot.”
For one big reason: “It’s hard to put a 1:42 guy on a high school track,” his father said. "In some ways that’s not fair to him and in other ways it’s not fair to the other kids, either.”
And so, Cooper joined a stable of Nike athletes as one of the apparel company’s youngest running ambassadors. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed.
In Tokyo, going against a field of decorated international runners, Lutkenhaus just wanted to finish in the top three and advance. His time of 1:47.68 was 1.38 seconds behind the time of Maciej Wyderka of Poland, the winner of his heat.
“You always feel like you could do more,” Lutkenhaus said.
As for school, he will keep attending classes in person at Northwest High, where he is a junior. But if his track schedule becomes too hectic, he may switch to online learning. He could be in line to graduate early as well.
He planned on doing homework in Tokyo when he wasn't running or training.
“Maybe take my mind off racing every day," he said.
His favorite class is U.S. history, which, of course, he’s making plenty of in his own way these days.
He's already tied for the 18th fastest 800-meter runner ever. What's more, he's 1.36 seconds off the world-record time of Kenyan great David Rudisha, who went 1:40.91 when he won gold at the 2012 London Games.
This sudden stardom won't be going to Lutkenhaus' head, though.
“My oldest two brothers definitely make sure I stay grounded,” he cracked. “I just want to be somebody that can build the sport.”
Down the road, he hopes to study kinesiology in college. He'd also like follow in his father's footsteps and become a coach.
“I want to do that," Lutkenhaus said with a laugh, “when I’m older.”
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