From early runs to late homework: The 16-year-old prodigy bound for the World Athletics Championships

Cooper Lutkenhaus stunned the athletics world this summer when he came in second at the US Athletics Trials with a “performance [that] makes high school LeBron look like nobody,” according to performance coach Steve Magness.

It also earned the sixteen-year-old a place on the US team for the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, becoming the youngest person in history to make the US team for the event.

However, while he thinks his teachers are “going to understand” his two-week absence from school to compete, he’ll still have to get his schoolwork done when he isn’t training.

He told CNN Sports, “It might be kind of good, just so I have something to do instead of sitting in the hotel room all day after training. It’ll give me a break from that running side of things.”

Balancing school with running is “a huge help”

Having a break from the running side of things has been “a huge help,” says the 16-year-old track and field prodigy. While in Tokyo, his first competition outside the Untied States, Lutkenhaus will be following the same schedule as he does back home.

The junior at Northwest High School in Fort Worth explains that he runs two hours a day, covering some 30 miles per week, mixing sprinting with slower runs.

He sometimes follows that up with strength training he shared with CNN. In the afternoons he hits the gym for an elliptical ride and stretching.

In between those training sessions, Lutkenhaus has eight hours to take his mind off of running when he going from class to class. “I can kind of just focus on: ‘We have math class, now we have history class.’ Having school with the running is a huge help,” he said.

Planning to “give 100% effort”

When competing in Tokyo the youngster will be going up against runners much older than himself. But he isn’t feeling much pressure, as this situation is similar to that at the US Athletics Trials “I had everything to gain but nothing to lose.” Even so, he says that he will “give 100% effort” at the World Athletics Championships.

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