Canzano: Age is just a number, isn't it?
What's the greatest feat ever by a young athlete?
Dimitrios Loundras competed in the parallel bars at the Athens Olympics in 1896. I don’t know what all the other 10-year-old Greek kids did that summer, but Loundras did the unthinkable and won a bronze medal.
Where does that rank all-time?
Is it more or less impressive than LeBron James or Kobe Bryant skipping college to star in the NBA? Nadia Comăneci’s perfect “10” at the age of 14 in Montreal? Mike Tyson, in his late teens, flattening a bunch of grown men in the boxing ring?
I bring this up because on Sunday in Eugene, 16-year-old Cooper Lutkenhaus ran 800 meters in 1:42.27 at the U.S. National Track Championships. It was a mind-bending performance. He finished second in the race and qualified to represent the USA in the world championships.
Tim Healy is one of my photographers. He specializes in track and field. Healy was at Hayward Field for Sunday’s competition. I watched it on a replay. Seeing Lutkenhaus kick down the stretch and nearly win the thing sure was a thing.
“It was absolutely shocking,” Healy told me. “I’ve heard Hayward Field loud, and that wasn’t even a full house, and I think that was the loudest I’ve ever heard.”