“The other part is that he loves it. He doesn’t miss. A ton of people are—to be cliche—talented, but they don’t do the things to maximize their talent. So how is he there? Because he’s doing everything to at least give him the chance to maximize his talent. Do we know it’s going to be 1:42? No, we don’t know that. We have no clue what it is… He’s doing the things it takes to see how good he can be—and he loves finding out what that looks like.” My guest for today's episode is Chris Capeau, the coach behind one of the most remarkable performances in American track history. As the head distance coach at Northwest High School in Texas, Capeau found success with his middle distance programs. Even before that at other Texas high schools, he was a bit of a journeyman in coaching at various universities and learning from other accomplished coaches in the sport. But this summer, the spotlight found him after 16-year-old Cooper Lutkenhaus stunned the track world with a 1:42.27 in the men's 800m at the U.S. Championships. That time was a three-second PR, a new U18 world record, the fastest time ever run by a high schooler, and the fourth-fastest time by an American ever. More than that, it earned Lutkenhaus a spot on Team USA for the World Championships in Tokyo, making him the youngest man in history to compete at a global outdoor championships. It was a moment that defied logic, but it didn't happen by accident. Capeau has been building upon a strong foundation established by Cooper's parents. A former NAIA marathon standout and collegiate coach with deep experience in building programs, Capeau brings a thoughtful athlete-centered approach that prioritizes trust, patience, and long-term development. That philosophy has now helped produce a once-in-a-generation talent and has rewritten what we thought was possible for high school middle distance running. This conversation pairs well with our previous episode with Cooper. You can find it here. In this one, we try to make even more sense of the performance by speaking to the man who worked on making it happen day in and day out. Take this interview on-the-go and listen here in podcast form: SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6pGpUW7dSSGnprsxgbkVjJ APPLE PODCASTS: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/coach-chris-capeau-on-coaching-cooper-lutkenhaus-to/id1204506559?i=1000721108655 FOLLOW CITIUS MAG ▶ Subscribe to the podcast: https://apple.co/3Byp72I ▶ On Twitter: http://twitter.com/CitiusMag ▶ On Instagram: http://instagram.com/citiusmag ▶ On Facebook: http://facebook.com/citiusmag ▶ Support us on Patreon: https://patreon.com/citiusmag ▶ On our website: http://citiusmag.com For other inquiries, contact us: chris@citiusmag.com Thanks for watching - please like, share and comment, and subscribe! Help us continue to bring track and field to your home and become a member today! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjyDlyHPHLhcIT8ov53d5qg/join