‘This Boy is Good’ - Emmanuel Wanyonyi at Pains to Explain Defeat to American Teen Sensation

Olympics 800m champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi has saluted American teenager Cooper Lutkenhaus after feeling the might of the 17-year-old at the Oslo Diamond League on Wednesday.

Lutkenhaus, who has sprung to prominence this year, had already taken down Olympics silver medalist and former world champion Marco Arop last weekend, and faced the biggest of them all, Olympics champion Wanyonyi on Wednesday.

However, he was unfazed as he summoned a great finishing kick to beat Wanyonyi in a photo finish in Oslo. The world indoor champion won his Diamond League debut in Stockholm on Sunday in 1:42.70 – then the fastest outdoor time in the world this year – and just three days later, he emulated that performance in Oslo, running a world-leading personal best 1:42.08 to move to joint 14th on the world all-time list.

Lutkenhaus tracked Wanyonyi for the first lap, waiting for his moment to strike. He kicked past his rival with 200 metres to go but Wanyonyi fought back – finishing just a hundredth of a second back (1:42.09) as Lutkenhaus dived over the line to narrowly miss the meeting record of 1:42.04 set by world record-holder David Rudisha in 2010. Wanyonyi was left impressed by the new kid on the block.

“This boy is in a good shape. Can you believe that as an Olympic champion, you are trying to knock down a 17-year-old boy? I started the race in front and after 600 metres to go, I tried to see who is coming to push me,” Wanyonyi remarked.

“Then I saw him passing me so then I tried to respond. But my target today was to run my SB [season’s best], to improve. The season is still early. Actually, I feel so happy to run, my daughter is watching me,” added the 21-year-old, who became a father last week.

“I am planning to go home tomorrow to train for the next race in Monaco and to enjoy some time with my family. Even my coach told me: ‘remember that your daughter is watching you now.’ Her name is Noela.”

Lutkenhaus is upsetting the established order in the 800m as he has now taken down the two best runners over the distance in the world.

After winning gold at the World Indoor Championships and now dominating on the Diamond League circuit, the 17-year-old could be a big threat to both Wanyonyi and Arop at next year’s World Championships in Beijing, China.