COROS is proud to announce a new partnership with middle-distance star Cooper Lutkenhaus. After a historic 2025 season that saw him run 1:42.27 for 800m (lowering the high school record by over 5 seconds), Cooper turned professional in his junior year and has wasted no time making an impact. He opened his pro career with wins at both the Dr. Sander Scorcher (800m) and the Millrose Games (600m), establishing himself as one of the most exciting young talents in the sport.

Cooper's COROS Gear:

COROS PACE 4

COROS Heart Rate Monitor

COROS POD 2

Lutkenhaus' Approach to Training with Data

At just 17 years old, Cooper already brings a thoughtful, intentional approach to his training and performance. “I love to look at the heart rate. If that’s workouts or just easy runs. I’ve always been interested on, you know, if I feel really bad, is the heart rate going to be really high? Or if I feel really good, what’s the difference?” he said. “And then during workouts, something that I try to do is see how low I can get it in between reps.”

This data-curious mindset makes Cooper a natural fit for COROS. He and his coach often review post-workout data together. It's easy to forget now that he's a professional, but Cooper still faces the day-to-day life of a high schooler. "It's a little harder just because we can't have phones in school," he said. "But we kind of look at it the next day and just see."

Why COROS?

Cooper’s relationship with COROS began even before he wore the watch. His brother bought him a heart rate monitor for Christmas a couple years back. That initial introduction helped spark an interest in tracking performance and recovery. Today, Cooper wears the PACE 4 and continues to train with that same HR monitor, using it both in workouts and on the elliptical during double sessions. “For cross-training, heart rate's all that I worry about. I'm looking at it every other minute I feel like.”

What drew him to COROS? In Cooper's words: “To me, COROS seems so easy. You can combine so many things at once to see it all at one time. It's so easy to check on your training.”

A Record-Setting Indoor Season

That clarity has helped Cooper get off to a fast start as a professional. At the Dr. Sander Scorcher, he led wire-to-wire in 1:45, setting a new Indoor U20 American record. “Training had gone really well. I was a little nervous just with it being the first race, probably more than I really have been before,” he said. “But on the line, as soon as the gun goes off, I’m always fine.”

At the end, Cooper's stride data shows remarkable resistance to fatigue late in the race. "I felt like I had a lot left with 200 to go, so I could open it up a little more."

What followed was a disrupted training week ahead of Millrose due to snow and travel. Cooper still executed. “I did my workout on a treadmill, just because all of our tracks were snowed over. And that was definitely the hardest workout I’ve ever done,” he said. “4:17 pace on a treadmill does not feel like 4:17 pace.”

Despite the challenging week of training, he returned to New York City and won the Millrose Games 600m in 1:14.15. A U20 Indoor World Record.

Championship Preparation

Cooper already knew that his fitness was in a good place coming into the US Indoor Championships, but with a spot on the World Indoor team and a US title on the line, it was all to play for. Cooper delivered a dominant win, powering through the rounds, to cement his spot and secure his first national title.

Building towards the World Indoors Championships, Cooper's training focused on maintenance, honing his top end speed, with faster reps closer to race effort, with longer recoveries. Finishing one key session with a 200m rep in under 22 seconds and a peak cadence of 239 spm. Sessions like this would prove to be vital and gave Cooper the final boost of confidence heading into Toruń.

Becoming the Youngest Indoor World Champion Ever

After navigating the early rounds with confidence, the final was a chance for Cooper to execute what he believed he was capable of.

Settling into the race, Cooper stayed calm even with his HR approaching 190bpm. He waited for the right moment to seize control and make his bid for gold. At this moment, holding off competitors, his cadence jumped from 203 to 220 spm. While most runners struggle to maintain cadence under fatigue, Cooper, trusted his training and was able able to increase his at a moment's notice.

COROS is excited to support Cooper on this journey, offering tools to track his performance, support his recovery, and evolve with his needs over time. As he put it: “The technology that you guys have been able to have in the past couple years (and I know it's definitely gonna grow over the next three years) it can make me a better athlete moving forward.”

We’re just getting started.