Cooper Lutkenhaus (born December 19, 2008) is an American track and field athlete who specializes in the

800 meters The 800 metres, or 800 meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event sin ...

. He holds the high school record in this event outdoors and indoors, with times of 1:45.45 and 1:46.86 respectively, both set in 2025.

Early life and background

Lutkenhaus comes from a family of athletes. His father George was the Class 1A state runner-up in the 1600 meters. Lutkenhaus looks up to

Bryce Hoppel Bryce Hoppel ( ; born September 5, 1997) is an American middle-distance runner who specializes in the 800 meters. He is the reigning 800 meters world indoor champion having won gold at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships - Men's 8 ...

, who set the American record in the 800 meters at the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

, running 1:41.67.

Career

In spring 2023, as an eighth grader, Lutkenhaus won the 800 meters at the Brooks PR Invitational and

Nike Outdoor Nationals Nike Outdoor Nationals, abbreviated as NON, is an American middle school and high school track and field championship meeting which takes place annually at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. Since 1990, the National Scholastic Athletic Foundation ...

in times of 1:54.20 and 1:53.59 respectively. During his freshman year of high school from 2023–2024, Lutkenhaus finished 47th in the Class 5A cross country state meet, running 16:23.4 for 5 kilometers. He went undefeated in the 800 meters, winning three national meets and a Texas Class 5A state title, which he won in 1:49.84. At the Brooks PR Invitational, Lutkenhaus set a new American high school freshman record and a new Texas high school state record in the 800 meters, running 1:47.58. That same season, Lutkenhaus also ran 47.33 for

400 meters The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is ...

. Lutkenhaus began his sophomore season in August 2024 with a personal best of 4:14.17 in the 1600 meters, finishing in a final lap of 59.1 seconds. On January 24, 2025, running against collegians at the Texas Tech Invite, Lutkenhaus set a new U.S. high school sophomore record in the indoor 800 meters, running 1:50.15. On February 8, 2025, Lutkenhaus competed in the professional 800 meters at the

Millrose Games The Millrose Games are an annual indoor athletics (track & field) meet held each February in New York City. Among the world's most prestigious indoor track meets, the games started taking place at the Armory in Washington Heights in 2012, after ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He set a new indoor high school national record in the event, clocking 1:46.86, which broke Josh Hoey's previous record of 1:47.67 by almost a second. In March 2025 he was named the 2025 COROS MileSplit50 Indoor Athlete of the Year. In May 2025, he won the Texas Class 6A 800 meters state title, in a new outdoor personal best of 1:47.04. He also finished second in the Class 6A 400 meters, in a personal best time of 46.30. On June 8, at the Brooks PR Invitational, Lutkenhaus broke Michael Granville's 29 year-old high school record of 1:46.45 in the 800 meters, running 1:46.26. Granville had previously claimed in 2024 that Lutkenhaus had the ability to break his record, and that Lutkenhaus has the talent to run 1:44 in the event before graduating high school. On June 21, he improved his record to 1:45.45 at

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lutkenhaus, Cooper Living people 2008 births American male middle-distance runners Track and field athletes from Texas Sportspeople from Fort Worth, Texas 21st-century American sportsmen