Cooper Lutkenhaus, Sanaa Barnes set for World Championships in Tokyo

Cooper Lutkenhaus and Sanaa Barnes will soon represent NISD on the global stage as each has been named to Team USA at the World Athletics Championships. The pair will be in action in Tokyo beginning next week with NBC and Peacock serving as the exclusive U.S. broadcasters of the event.

Cooper, a junior at Northwest High School, took the track and field world by storm when he brought home a silver medal in the men’s 800-meter at the USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships in early August. 

His time of 1:42.27 in the finals reset the U.S. high school national record by three seconds, broke the under-18 world record, broke the U.S. under-20 record, and made him the fourth-fastest American ever in the event, regardless of age.

Cooper will begin his World Championships on Tuesday, September 16, with first round heats that start at 5:35 a.m. CST. The men’s 800-meter semifinals are scheduled for Thursday, September 18, at 7:45 a.m. CST, and the final is scheduled for Saturday, September 20, at 8:22 a.m. CST.

Sanaa, a Byron Nelson High School alumna, also took home a silver medal at the USA championships, clearing a height of 1.94 meters (6 feet, 4 ¼ inches) for her new personal best in the women’s high jump competition.

Sanaa earned a high jump state title in the 6A classification in 2017 at the UIL Track & Field State Championships, and she earned a medal in the competition each of her four years in high school. She went on to study and compete in college for Villanova and Auburn.

She will begin her World Championships with women’s high jump qualification on Thursday, September 18, at 5:15 a.m. CST. The finals will be held on Sunday, September 21, at 5:30 a.m. CST.