Article #46868

The American is track and field’s youngest world champion but you won’t find the 17-year-old boasting about his achievements

We are in living in the era of teenage super talents. On Saturday, Mirra Andreeva won the French Open at 19. Spain’s Lamine Yamal, at 18, is one of the favourites for the World Cup’s golden ball. Then there is Cooper Lutkenhaus, the 17-year-old American already making the world’s best athletes gasp for air and reach for superlatives, who may yet prove the best of the bunch.

True, it is early days. But Lutkenhaus is already track and field’s youngest world champion, having won 800m indoor gold in March. On Sunday, he added to his CV with victory against a top-class field in his first Diamond League race. But it was what his rivals said afterwards in Stockholm that left the deepest mark.