Lutkenhaus - a multi-generational runner.

I've been following track and field since the 1950s and Jim Ryun is the only runner that comes to mind to do what this young man is doing at such a young age.

Just WOW !!!!

shady said:

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JQ finished 5th in the 110 hurdles but did beat Smallwood from sip at least.

I think he may have had a better chance to make the team in the 400h but dropped out in the semifinal round of that race.

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Agree. 48.56 made the team. He ran 48.29 at NCAAs.

I think I've watched that 800m race 47 times now. What a race.

- So happy for Brazier.

- Lutkenhaus. Just wow. Shocking.

- Brandon Miller - for a brief second coming off the curve I though he might make it. Didn't have enough juice left (49.34 opening lap can do that to you), but he's making progress. PR today. He's 23 and he should be a real threat for 2028 Olympics.

Haha

"I just decided to go back to middle school tactics with 200 to go." - Cooper Lutkenhaus

How many @WorldAthletics Champs qualifiers would say they drew on *middle school* tactics in the national title race? This guy did, because he was in middle school... less than 3 yrs ago. pic.twitter.com/J690jUJgtL

— Dave Devine (@PDX_devine) August 3, 2025

Sodadude said:

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- Brandon Miller - for a brief second coming off the curve I though he might make it. Didn't have enough juice left (49.34 opening lap can do that to you), but he's making progress. PR today. He's 23 and he should be a real threat for 2028 Olympics.

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"I knew it was going to be fast," said Miller as he thought about the race. He continued: "I was ready for 49, and I thought I had it. I just have some work to do."

Another comment

Lutkenhaus's performance has been lauded by many, including Athletics performance coach Steve Magness, who was in a state of disbelief after learning of the teenager's record-breaking feat.
"A 16 year old high schooler just ran 1:42.27. I have no words," he said. "This is the most impressive athletic feat in history. There are no superlatives. His performance makes high school Lebron look like nobody. Cooper Lutkenhaus take a bow."
Magness, who has coached some of the best distance runners in the world, wasn't done there.
"I don't know how to explain it," he continued. "It is the most mind blowing HS performance in history. Any high school phenom in history you can think of? This kid is better. I never thought we'd supplant Jim Ryun as the HS runner GOAT, but a sophomore in HS just did. Insanity."
He added: "Think of it like this: He was in a field with 3 different world champions. He beat all but 1, who barely held him off by a tenth of a second It's pure insanity. Better than Jim Ryun, Alan Webb, Sydney, Alyson Felix, whoever your comparative is...and he's a sophomore in HS

Lutkenhaus' race and time was amazing but Magness must not consider swimming an athletic event since that wasn't even a world record run. Michael Phelps set his first world record at age 15 when he swam 1:54.92 in the 200m butterfly at the 2001 US National Championships. Then he broke it again as a 16 year old. Hearing the well deserved accolades for Lutkenhaus' performance helps put in perspective what Phelps did in the pool at an early age.

jbeaman88 said:

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Lutkenhaus' race and time was amazing but Magness must not consider swimming an athletic event since that wasn't even a world record run. Michael Phelps set his first world record at age 15 when he swam 1:54.92 in the 200m butterfly at the 2001 US National Championships. Then he broke it again as a 16 year old. Hearing the well deserved accolades for Lutkenhaus' performance helps put in perspective what Phelps did in the pool at an early age.

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Swimming and track are very different. Lots of examples of early to mid teens swimming at world elite levels. (heck, a 12 year old Chinese girl just medaled on the 4x2 relay at Worlds). Not so in track.

Since water provides so much resistance the younger, thinner teenagers can cut through the water efficiently even before they have their adult level strength. Not so in track where air provides much less resistance (so body size doesn't matter) and maturation is more important.

Here is a terrific, almost hour long, interview with Lutkenhaus. Sounds like a terrific kid.

https://citiusmag.com/podcast/citius-mag-podcast-cooper-lutkenhaus