The 16-year-old from Texas is the youngest person in history to make the US team for the World Athletics Championships, taking time off from high school to compete. He won’t be able to escape schoolwork entirely, anticipating that it could even be a healthy distraction ahead of the biggest race of his life.
“It might be kind of good, just so I have something to do instead of sitting in the hotel room all day after training,” Lutkenhaus tells CNN Sports. “It’ll give me a break from that running side of things.”
His time? An astonishing 1:42.27, chopping more than a second off the under-18 world record. Only three American men in history have run faster, and one of them, Donavan Brazier, finished just a fraction in front of him.
