All eyes from the track and field world are on Eugene, Oregon, where the USA Track & Field Championships are in full swing. While we’ve already witnessed some stunning finishes, the most memorable moment from the event came on 3rd August, when the world first learned of what 16-year-old Cooper Lutkenhaus was capable of in the men’s 800 meters. The teenage phenom not only smashed his personal best but also set a new world best for U18, as he stunned everyone, including a former Olympic champion and record holder.

Lutkenhaus ran a spectacular 1:42.27 to finish second, defeating several seasoned pros and nearly taking over former world champion Donavan Brazier, who managed to keep hold of his No. 1 position in the end. No one believed that the Texas native would deliver what can only be described as one of the best middle-distance running performances in history on Sunday. So, just like everyone else, former national record holder Michael Granville was also in shock when he found out the news.

Granville wasn’t even watching the race; instead, he was driving home from work when his phone suddenly started to blow up with messages. One of those messages came from former Olympic champion Jearl Miles-Clark, who notified Granville of Cooper Lutkenhaus’ historic race. At first, the former national record holder couldn’t believe what had just happened. He was in shock, but once he recovered, he was more than happy to say that the nation’s future in middle-distance running is in safe hands.

There’s no doubt that it was a once-in-a-lifetime performance from Lutkenhaus. That’s why Michael Granville was proud of the teenager’s incredible achievement. “Just making the team, just to see a high school phenom take it to the next level, it gives me peace,” Granville said. “I’m passing the baton off to the right person.” Indeed, what the former national record holder said could not be more true. That’s because making it to the national team at just 16 years of age is something we don’t see pretty often.

That explains why Granville had a lot of pride as he stated that he was passing the baton to the right person. There’s no doubt that this is only the beginning of what seems to be a bright future for Cooper Lutkenhaus, as he eyes the World Championships in Tokyo.

Cooper Lutkenhaus is set to be the youngest competitor at the World Championships.

Cooper Lutkenhaus not only managed to place second among the best runners of the country, but the 16-year-old is also all set to become the youngest to compete for the U.S. at the World Track and Field Championship in history. That’s insane because if you watched the race, you’d know that a rising junior from Northwest High School outside of Dallas was in seventh place with some 200 odd meters left to the finish. However, it was then that Lutkenhaus showed the world his true ceiling.

The teenager picked up his pace and used what he later explained as his middle school tactics to finish second behind Donavan Brazier. “Ever since middle school, that’s been a spot (200 to go) I’ve kind of pushed from,” Lutkenhaus revealed. “I kind of just decided to go back to middle school tactics.” As unconventional as it might sound, you cannot question the 16-year-old’s tactics after Sunday’s heroics, earning him a prestigious spot on the national team.

After all, these tactics have now enabled him to break the record of the youngest American to compete at the track and field worlds, which is currently held by Mary Cain, who ran the 1500m at 17 years, 3 months of age back in 2013. Cooper Lutkenhaus will not just shatter that record; he’ll do that by some margin, given that he will turn 17 on December 19th later this year. While it will be fun just to see the teenager compete at the world level, it’s hard not to imagine the scenes if he pulls off something similar in Tokyo, as we await the World finals.