HE MAY ONLY be 6 months older than when he bowed out in the heats at last September’s World Championships, but Cooper Lutkenhaus now runs with strength, savvy and confidence like that of someone with 3-4 more years of experience under his belt.
All of those qualities were on full display this week, especially Sunday as Lutkenhaus executed a race plan to perfection and ran like the favorite most considered him to be over the entire distance. Even after the stunning victory, on the track and in the mixed zone, there was no real shock or amazement regarding the incredible accomplishment that you’d think a 17-year-old winning a World Senior title — the youngest ever to do so — would generate.
It was simply more the happy satisfaction of a job well done and a goal attained.
“This weekend has just been everything we wanted it to be,” Lutkenhaus said following his 1:44.24 triumph. “Each round we felt very comfortable. So to be able to bring home a gold medal for Team USA… it was a blast this weekend.”
Even in the final? “I felt pretty comfortable,” he admitted with his trademark bright smile. “You never know how these championship races are going to play out and I just wanted to make a move anywhere from 200 to 400 [out] and that’s what we did.”
Well, that’s true, yet it was really more than “a move.” Lutkenhaus was 4th when they broke for the rail after one lap, but on the backstretch he boldly powered to the outside and right up on early leader Elliott Crestan’s shoulder, where he settled for most of a lap.
Then with 300 to go, the Northwest HS (Justin, Texas) junior surged confidently ahead right into the curve. At the bell, Crestan pushed to try and reclaim the advantage, but Lutkenhaus wasn’t having it. He reacted immediately to keep his lead.
Finally, Crestan had one more card to play, pulling wide to try and pass on the homestretch, but he didn’t have nearly enough. Lutkenhaus held to the line, having measured his energy expenditure with perfection. The 1:44.24 to 1:44.38 margin didn’t do justice to how decisive the victory was.
“I knew I wanted to go anywhere from 200 to 300,” he said. “We’ve trained for moves like this; we practiced it a lot last year. I knew I’d be confident coming through in 51, I felt really smooth. We came through the semi in 50 point and that felt really easy.
“I want to be able to prove a lot of people wrong when I race,” he added. “Sometimes people can think I can only race one way… so, we just tried to make a move and maybe people weren’t expecting it.”
Color the 27-year-old Belgian silver medalist impressed. “He’s incredible. I think he’s maybe the future Rudisha,” he said. “Maybe. I hope so. Yeah, he’s very, very strong.”
Wearing the red, white and blue definitely motivated the high schooler and Lutkenhaus carried with him the acute awareness of having come up short of his aspirations in Tokyo. “You know, going to Tokyo, and not getting out of the first round and not running great, I’ve kind of kept that thought in the back of my mind all year,” he told NBC commentator Ato Boldon before the race. “Just not wanting to let that happen again, because it was pretty painful after the race just kind of lying there, just reflecting on the whole season as its whole, and it just felt like it was going so well, and then it just kind of ended.
“I think the hardest part about Tokyo was that was my seventeenth month of racing,” he added afterward. “I don’t think a lot of people realize that. I’d been racing over a year, so, you know, I’m not using that as an excuse, but just being able to be fresh for this one and a lot more confident [was the difference].
“I feel like whenever you think of Team USA in track, you think of gold medals,” he continued. “I’m just out here trying to race to the best of my ability and represent Team USA the best that I can, because I feel like in Tokyo I might not have… I didn’t do as well as I wanted to.”
It went beyond that, though. Lutkenhaus truly felt the world didn’t get to see his true self last September. “There’s a big jump between the pro world and every other, even the NCAA,” he said. “Everybody has a kick when it’s off a slow pace and I wasn’t used to that… I believe I closed in 25 in Tokyo, but other guys were closing in 24.” Knowing that, now, has informed both how he trains and strategizes.
Also on Lutkenhaus’s mind this weekend was being a worthy successor to the American medalists that preceded him. “I really came into this race [knowing] Team USA had won the last two World Indoor 800s, with [Bryce] Hoppel and then (Josh) Hoey. I really wanted to try and get the threepeat for Team USA.
“I think that shows just how deep Team USA 800-meter running is, to be able to have three different guys win it…. I think it shows America is the best 800 nation, depth wise.”
Whenever Lutkenhaus decides to launch his outdoor season, and whatever he aims for, as a first step toward the major championships of the following two years, competitors would do themselves a favor not to think of him as a 17-year-old or a pro newbie anymore.
“I came out here thinking, you know, I probably wasn’t a favorite, but any time I feel like I can step into a final, I think I have a chance to win,” he said. I think that just comes from confidence.”
Cooper officially aced his first big test Sunday and graduated to the ranks of elite pros. Whether he’ll be the next Rudisha remains to be seen, but he’s definitely the first Lutkenhaus. □
