(In paragraph 1 removes incorrect reference to time being personal best)
By Amy Tennery
NEW YORK, July 26 (Reuters) – Teenager Cooper Lutkenhaus capped his summer school break in spectacular fashion on Sunday, the 17-year-old claiming the U.S. 800 metres title in 1:43.48 as his rapid rise continued.
He navigated around the outside of an experienced field at Icahn Stadium, slamming his foot on the gas with 200 metres to go before breaking the tape more than a second ahead of Wes Ferguson (1:44.55), while Hobbs Kessler took third in 1:45.00.
Lutkenhaus, who begins his senior year of high school in just three weeks, said he had extra motivation to do well as he is unlikely to race again until the winter indoor season.
“I was like, I really want to end it on a bang because when we hit about month three or four, I’m going to be pretty sad just training all the time,” he said. “So I just really want to come out here, just give it everything I had because I’m not going to have an effort like this for a while.”
The latest success in a breakthrough season for Lutkenhaus has made him one of the most talked-about athletes in American track and field, and reporters crowded around the Texas-born teenager after his win on Sunday.
He finished second in the U.S. trials last year in 1:42.27, becoming the youngest American ever to compete at an outdoor worlds as a 16-year-old in September. He became the youngest-ever to win a men’s individual title at the World Indoor Championships in March.
“The team I have around me really helps with the pressure. It’s one of those things – when you run 1:42 at 16 years old, you’re expecting that,” said Lutkenhaus, who picked up a pair of Diamond League wins last month in Oslo and Stockholm.
“There’s going to be a lot of pressure. There’s people thinking you should win this, run that. I’m not really focused on that. I’m just focused on what I can do.”
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York)
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