Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Sean Ingle

‘He’s phenomenal’: the American teenager who is athletics’ next big thing

Cooper Lutkenhaus with a USA flag after winning gold in the men's 800m final at the world indoor championships
Cooper Lutkenhaus powered away from a strong field to win 800m gold at the world indoor championships last month. Photograph: Kacper Pempel/Reuters

Fire on the boards. Slack jaws off it. Last month I was fortunate enough to be yards away from the 17-year-old American high school student Cooper Lutkenhaus when he powered away from a strong 800m field in Torun to become the youngest world champion in track and field history. But no sooner had the applause died down than the search for superlatives began.

“He’s like David Rudisha,” said Eliott Crestan, the Belgian who took world indoor championship silver behind Lutkenhaus. “In 10 or 20 years’ time, I’ll be able to say that I ran against him.”

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.