17-Year-Old Cooper Lutkenhaus Becomes Youngest-Ever Indoor World Champion with Gold Medal in 800m

There's a new 800-meter indoor world champion, and he's just 17 years old.

Per The Athletic's Liam Tharme, Cooper Lutkenhaus won gold in the 800 meter at the athletics world indoor championships with a time of 1 minute and 44.24 seconds. He's the youngest-ever indoor world champion in the event.

"I came out here thinking I probably wasn't the favourite," Lutkenhaus said after the race, per Tharme. "Maybe it came from confidence or maybe from being too young but I really wanted to try to make a defining move.

"I believed in that on the third lap — I just wanted to try to take it from there. I'm so surprised how much support I received from everybody around me being a teenager and starting to compete at the senior level — the highest level."

Lutkenhaus previously became the youngest American to qualify for and compete in the World Championships when he ran an under-18 world record at U.S. trials.

Lutkenhaus has already established himself as one of the best in the world at his distance, and the young athlete is just beginning.