Teenager is youngest ever US athlete at world champs

Texan finishes seventh in heat, well of personal best

Cooper Lutkenhaus must have the best excuse for missing class of any high school junior, given he has been in Japan these past two weeks preparing to compete for Team USA at the World Athletics Championship.

But the 16-year-old’s dream of reaching the 800m final ended in the opening round on Tuesday as he could only finish seventh in the sweating heat of Tokyo.

“It was definitely tough,” Lutkenhaus from Northwest High School in Justin, Texas, admitted afterwards. “It’s not your day every time. It’s like you fail a math test occasionally, but you come back. And I’m excited for what the future holds.”