LUTKENHAUS BEAT WANYONYI

Days after winning his Diamond League debut in Stockholm in 1:42.70, Cooper Lutkenhaus showed up to the Bislett Games in Oslo on Wednesday night and ran 1:42.08. He won by 0.01 seconds. The man he beat was Emmanuel Wanyonyi - the reigning Olympic and World Champion in the 800m.

Lutkenhaus tracked Wanyonyi through the first lap, kicked past him with 200m to go, and then held on as Wanyonyi fought back. At the line, Lutkenhaus dived. Wanyonyi finished in 1:42.09. Marco Arop of Canada was third in 1:43.33.

The 1:42.08 is a new U18 world record, breaking his own mark of 1:42.27 set at the USATF Outdoor Championships last August. It is the world lead for 2026 and it is US#3 all-time, behind only Bryce Hoppel (1:41.67) and Josh Hoey (1:42.01). Only 13 men in history have run faster. He missed the Oslo meet record of 1:42.04, set by David Rudisha in 2010, by 0.04 seconds. He is now 6-for-6 as a professional athlete and again, he is 17 years old.