Cooper Lutkenhaus, 17, beats Emmanuel Wanyonyi by a hundredth in Oslo with 1:42.08
The Texan's world lead at the Bislett Games is the fastest 800 m ever by an under-18; Addisu Yihune ran 12:47.62 for 5000 m and Freweyni Hailu 8:24.22.
Photograph: the men's 800 m at the 2026 Bislett Games, with Emmanuel Wanyonyi, Cooper Lutkenhaus and Marco Arop, by Ssu, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsCooper Lutkenhaus won the 800 m at the Bislett Games in Oslo on Wednesday in 1:42.08, one hundredth ahead of the Olympic champion, Emmanuel Wanyonyi, who ran 1:42.09. Marco Arop was third in 1:43.33. The time is the fastest in the world this year, the fastest ever run by an under-18 athlete, and by FloTrack's count the third fastest by an American.
Lutkenhaus is 17. He is still a high school student in Justin, Texas, and signed with Nike in 2025 rather than run for a college. Three days earlier he had won in Stockholm in 1:42.70. In Oslo he beat the Olympic champion on a track that has seen most things.
The distance races were quick too. Addisu Yihune won the 5000 m in 12:47.62, a world lead, with Bahrain's Birhanu Balew running an Asian record 12:47.73 for second and Sweden's Andreas Almgren third in 12:48.61. Freweyni Hailu won the women's 3000 m in 8:24.22, also a world lead, leading an Ethiopian sweep with Likina Amebaw, 8:25.15, and Senayet Getachew, 8:25.85. The Dream Mile ended in a dead heat on the clock, Timothy Cheruiyot and Yared Nuguse both 3:48.21, given to Cheruiyot on the thousandths, with Cameron Myers third in 3:48.35.
Alison dos Santos beat Karsten Warholm in the 400 m hurdles, 46.89 to 47.40, and Henriette Jæger won the women's 400 m for the home crowd in 49.52. Letsile Tebogo won the 200 m in 19.84; Gout Gout was sixth in 20.60.
A 17-year-old who has not finished school just outran the Olympic champion over the last ten metres. Remember the date.
