The 17-year-old, who took time off from classes at Northwest High School in Texas to compete in the championships, won gold with a time of 1 minute, 44.24 seconds, 0.14 seconds ahead of Belgium’s Eliott Crestan. Mohamed Attaoui of Spain won bronze.
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Lutkenhaus, who turned 17 in December, surpassed the previous record for youngest champion held by Ethiopian Mohammed Aman, who was 18 years and 61 days old when he won gold, also in the 800 meters, in 2012.
Lutkenhaus also competed in the world outdoor championships last September when he was still 16 and was eliminated in the first round. After his run at those championships, he admitted he still had some homework to do before returning to Texas.