Cooper Lutkenhaus Q&A: Texas track sensation talks about 1st year as a pro runner while being a high schooler

Texas running sensation Cooper Lutkenhaus will run at the Prefontaine Classic on July 3, part of two days of events at the University of Oregon.

The 17-year-old is coming off a win in the 800-meter run at the Diamond League victory at the Bislett Games in Oslo, Norway on June 10.

He overtook Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi of Kenya late and held on for the win in a personal best 1:42.08.

Lutkenhaus is now the third fastest American in the 800 — ever — behind Bryce Hoppel (1:41.67) and Josh Hoey, who ran 1:42.01 last year.

He is one of four Americans in the 800-meter field set to run at 9:07 p.m. (PST) on July 3. He will be joined by Donovan Brazier, Brandon Miller and Hoppel.

Lutkenhaus signed a professional deal with Nike on Aug. 25, 2025, after running 1:42.27 to set the world U18 record at the time. He just finished his senior year at Northwest High School in Justin, Texas. It is located near Fort Worth and down the road from the Texas Motor Speedway.

Cooper's also been a part of the Nike Elite Program since his freshman year of high school.

The Nike Elite Program is a groundbreaking program designed to empower 40 of the nation's top high school track and field athletes — 20 male and 20 female — by providing resources and opportunities they need to excel at the highest level.

Nike exists to help every athlete - including Lutkenhaus - redefine speed and unlock their fastest self through innovation, belief and partnership, according to a news release.

Here’s a look at the Q&A with Lutkenhaus that was done on June 30

You are about to run at the Prefontaine in Oregon. What will it be like to be in that race?

It'll be my first time at Prefontaine. So, obviously, I've watched it on TV for the past couple of years. I know what the crowd is going to be like and you know it excites me just talking about.

And on that note, when you head to races, what is your mindset like with the competition?

Obviously, you have to kind of see what competition you have going into a race, but at this level everyone is so talented that it almost doesn't matter in a way, because there's so many fast guys. All you can really do is just focus on yourself and give us the best effort that you can, because that's all that matters really at the end of the day.

So in high school races, you probably kind of have a little bit of a game plan when you have those two laps to go and are trying to save it for the last lap. How much tougher is it now?

It’s definitely a little tougher. You kind of have to change your strategy up a little bit every race. Every race isn't the same. You know, in high school, it's obviously different, but on the professional side, you have now a split second to make a move; instead of in high school, you may have a second or two to decide. Especially at such a high level, it’s the hardest race, in my opinion, to be able to navigate. That's the reason I enjoy it, is just because it's so difficult to be able to be in a good position and set yourself up for success.

Do you ever do research on them or watch videos of how the competition runs? I know in baseball and football, you watch film and break it down. Do you do that?

Definitely, I'm someone that likes to watch a lot of film on other athletes. One for entertainment purposes, because you know it's always fun to watch someone run super fast, but also I'm just kind of studying just how they like to race. I think that's been a pretty big advantage I have, is I kind of know how these races are going to play out before it even starts; I kind of just know where people like to go a lot. Everyone has preferences. I mean, I have a preference on where I like to race, so you know, whenever you see them in that preference spot, it makes it a little bit easier to kind of determine how the race will go.

I saw you had a big win in Oslo recently. What was it like to beat an Olympic champion? When you win those kinds of races, how much does your phone or social media channels blow up?

I know you had a pretty big winner also recently. What was it like for you to have that win and beat a pretty, pretty big name in the sport, super exciting, and I didn't realize I had won the race until I saw my name pop up on the on the board. I actually thought I was second, so to be able to come away with the win in such an historic stadium, but also, you know, one of the best 800 fields ever assembled is really exciting

So when you win those kinds of races. I mean, what is your phone like from people from back home, in the Justin and Fort Worth area?

It definitely blows up a little bit, you know. A lot of my friends now think it's pretty normal what I'm doing, but it's definitely hot. So it's.. I always like to say it's like the closed circle is always the ones that reach out first, but you always have a lot of extra people come in, which is always great to hear from friends, but it's always fun to get to kind of chat with people maybe you haven't for a little bit.

COOPER WOULD NOT BE DENIED ‼️

Cooper Lutkenhaus edges out 2024 Olympic Champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi to win in Olso in 1:42.08. Cooper’s time is the world lead and US #3 all-time!! 😭#DiamondLeague and #OsloDL coverage presented by @On_Running and @FleetFeetSports pic.twitter.com/2krfosiT2X
— FloTrack (@FloTrack) June 10, 2026

So being pro now, how different are your summer breaks compared to a few years ago?

It's almost been similar, because I've been traveling for races. The only difference is it's just higher competition, and it's not in America now. So if you even go back further, I guess elementary school, when I was going on vacations, this is kind of like the vacation now, it's just maybe a little more stressful. Bu no, it's what I enjoy, so it almost feels like a vacation in a way.

What's is it like juggling school,and just being a pro? I mean, I'm sure it kind of came out a little bit of nowhere.

I mean, definitely, honestly, it hasn't been too bad. Being in such a great school district (Northwest ISD)and teachers and staff that really care. It makes my job a lot easier. They understand kind of what I have going on, so they've been able to make it really easy for me. Obviously, I still have to go to school and do all the work, but maybe turning in work sooner than expected for like a normal student, that's fine with me. Obviously, education is the most important thing, so have to get that done, especially to make the parents happy.

I think both your parents are educators, right?

Yes, sir.

Was there pressure to just move on from school and do online school or do like virtual school, then still be there (at Northwest High School in Justin)?

Honestly, no. I kind of wanted to stay in high school just to one, keep it normal, but also that's where all your friends are at. You hear a lot of times the professional life can be lonely, so you know, still being in high school, where your best friends are… the guys you're running with all the time, it makes it pretty easy for me to go to school. But also, when your mom is your principal, it can be a little bit more fun having her there.

Do you still train with your old teammates and for track and cross country? I mean, are you still one of the guys, even though you're not really a Texan anymore?

Yes, I still train with them every day. I normally hang out with them probably like three times a week, even if it's not running-related. So, always running the practice, and then sometimes we talk about going to do something else. But now I had to say goodbye to him for about a week, since I'm not going to be there, but no, it's always good to train with him.

What has been the best part of being a pro runner now?

I think the atmosphere that you get to race in. Whenever I went to Europe, and I've never been. Obviously, I raced in Tokyo, and raced in front of 60,000 people, and that was incredible. But going to Europe, where there's so much history with the sport of track and field, that was super fun, and getting to enjoy it with my whole family. Like, who would ever think that a 17-year-old would get to do something like that? And for it to be me is super exciting, you know, it's a lot of memories were made during the week we were in Europe.

How often do you kind of sit back and think about how crazy this is where you're at?

A lot, honestly, because I'm someone that likes to, you know, enjoy being in the present. Obviously, you look back at the past, and you kind of think about what's what's happened in your life to get you here, and you know, there's always kind of fun memories to think back on. Obviously, they're not that old, I’m still pretty young, but I always kind of like to think back and just, you know, enjoy the process that kind of got me to where I'm at right now.

Pro-wise, me, when did it kind of transpire like that? I know you had a lot of success at Northwest High School, but in your wildest dreams, did you ever think you could be a pro before you got out of high school?

This is definitely what I wanted to do, though. So, you know, it's pretty cool that it happened pretty early. You know, my plan was always to graduate high school, go to college, run for a year or two, and then I really wanted to turn professional. That was my dream, that was my goal. So, the goal happened a lot earlier than expected, but I can't be mad at it.

Have you run at Oregon before?

I have many times. I ran at Nike Nationals my eighth-grade year, freshman year, sophomore year, and then I ran for USAs when I made my first team, and then I'll be back (July 3).

Is this one of the tracks you enjoy?

This is probably my favorite track to run. There's something different about it, is what I always like to say. The Hayward magic, in my opinion, is a very true thing. It's been some incredible things that have happened there, and I like to say I was thankfully one of them, so to you know, to have a moment there, especially in front of a home crowd like that, with it being in America. I, it's always fun to get to race up there.

You turned pro, but did you ever have a chance to get recruiting visits or anything at all for colleges?

I had about a month of recruitment, which I really did enjoy. It was definitely tiring a little bit, but I really wanted to go to college. I'm still going to go to college for school, but I really wanted to run in college, but obviously that ended, but it's probably been better running professionally.

When you go to college, what do you think you will look for in college? Do you have an idea what you want to major in, or what job you want? Obviously, I know you probably can't do this forever.

I mean, we're gonna try to make it last forever, though. But I right now the plan is to probably major in kinesiology and then have a minor in sports marketing. I kind of either want to be a coach or part of like a pretty big business or agency type thing, so that's the plan right now. But obviously things can change with one more year still left in high school.

Your dad is an athletic director, is that right?

He’s the assistant athletic director for the school district.

Do you kind of feel that push to go into education or coaching? I mean, I thought you've probably been around that your whole life

My two older brothers both want to go into coaching, and my dad and mom would always try to push them to go do something else. But it always seems like that's just where we wanted to stay. It's always great to be in something that you know, feels comfortable, obviously.

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