The 16-year-old middle-distance runner just didn't have it. Not on this night. His kick, the one that helped him shatter all sorts of 800-meter records in this breakout season, wasn't there.

Maybe it was the magnitude of the stage for Cooper Lutkenhaus , the newly turned pro who didn't advance out of the first round Tuesday at the world track and field championships in Tokyo.

There were more than 35,000 fans packed inside Japan's National Stadium — and Lutkenhaus was lined up against some of the best runners from eight different countries.

Disappointed to be going home so soon? Sure.

Did it overshadow his season in the slightest? Not at all. Showing wisdom beyond his years, Lutkenhaus explained his early exit — a seventh-place showing in his opening heat — in terms any runner can und

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