Running Prodigy Ditches High School and College for Nike at 16

Cooper Lutkenhaus still has two years left to finish high school, but he’s already a professional athlete.

Lutkenhaus, 16, announced this week that he signed a deal with Nike that means he will forgo his amateurism and turn pro. He came in second at the U.S. Outdoor Track and Field Championships earlier this month in the 800-meter, recording the event’s sixth-fastest men’s time globally this year.

“When they approached me with the offer, I knew I wouldn’t want to have it any other way,” Lutkenhaus told Front Office Sports. He said that he’s ‘always dreamed of representing Nike.”

The move is not unprecedented. Sprinters Erriyon Knighton and Tamari Davis both turned pro at 16. But Lutkenhaus is the first American male middle distance runner to turn pro while still in high school. Other runners have pulled out of college commitments to go pro at the end of high school, like Noah Lyles, Drew Hunter, Hobbs Kessler, and Josh Hoey.

The decision means Lutkenhaus will forgo his remaining high school and all of his college eligibility, though he can keep training with his high school coach in Texas. (NIL deals aren’t permitted for athletes in Texas until they turn 17.) He’s still attending classes and watching his former teammates at track races, an adjustment he said is the biggest change he didn’t anticipate. “It definitely feels tough, but it’s worth it to have the opportunity to sign with the best brand in running at such a young age,” Lutkenhaus said. He told Citius Mag that he still plans on attending college even though he won’t be competing for one.

Lutkenhaus stunned the track world at the U.S. championships by shaving a full three seconds off his personal best, running 1:42.27 and instantly stamping himself as one of the best middle-distance runners in the world. His time was a world record for the under-18 category and beat the age-16 record he had set earlier this summer. It was the fourth fastest time ever by an American, and would’ve claimed the top spot just a year ago. 

Lutkenhaus will become the youngest American to compete at the world championships in Tokyo in September.

“I will be surrounded by the best athletes in the world—athletes that I have watched for years, looked up to and hope to be,” Lutkenhaus told FOS of his upcoming trip to Japan. “But I am there to compete and that is where my focus will be.”