American Athlete Lutkenhaus Skips School and Semi-Final Place
The 16-year-old athlete likely has the most impressive excuses for skipping class any high school 11th grader can imagine, given he was in Japan during the recent days getting ready to race for the United States squad at the World Athletics Championship.
But the teenager's hope of advancing to the 800-meter final finished in the first round on Tuesday as he placed seventh in the sweltering heat of Tokyo.
“The conditions were challenging,” Lutkenhaus admitted afterwards. “Not every race goes as planned. You might stumble now and then, but you keep trying. And I look forward for the coming years.”
Lutkenhaus’s personal best of 1 min 42.27 sec ranks him as the 22nd speediest runner – although he is still a boy – in the all-time list over 800m. So great was his reputation that the legendary world record holder David Rudisha, in attendance in the stadium, had said he was eager to watching the Texan athlete race.
Lutkenhaus, the youngest American ever to compete at the world championships after placing second in the national qualifiers, was self-assured after posting personal bests in training. But he was not able to produce his best on race day.
He passed the majority of the race in the second or third position, and when he tried his closing speed with 150 metres to go, he was missing adequate energy remaining. He crossed the line in 1:47.68 in a race won by Poland’s Maciej Wyderka.
“Well, the sprint didn't show up as it normally is,” he said. “But you just have to move on, take it as a lesson. But I'm walking out of the stadium with my head held high, since competing against the best guys globally is thrilling.”
“There are any second thoughts from that race,” he continued. “You’re gonna have poor performances occasionally.”