August 7, 2025
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"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... But 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.
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Host: Chris Chavez | @chris_j_chavez on Instagram
Guest: Coach Chris Capeau
Produced by: Jasmine Fehr | @jasminefehr on Instagram
Mentioned in this episode…
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Chris Chavez
Chris Chavez launched CITIUS MAG in 2016 as a passion project while working full-time for Sports Illustrated. He covered the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and grew his humble blog into a multi-pronged media company. He completed all six World Marathon Majors and on Feb. 15th, 2025 finally broke five minutes for the mile.
