Erriyon Knighton

Erriyon Knighton (born January 29, 2004) is an American male sprinter specializing in the 100 meters and 200 meters events.[3] He currently holds the world under-18 record of 19.84, set on June 27, 2021 at the 2020 United States Olympics Trials, and world under-20 record in the 200 meters with a time of 19.49 seconds, set on April 30, 2022. The latter time also makes him the fourth-fastest athlete in history over 200 meters, with his time only surpassed by Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake, and Michael Johnson.

Erriyon Knighton
Personal information
NationalityAmerican
Born (2004-01-29) January 29, 2004[1]
Tampa, Florida
Height6 ft 3 in (191 cm)[1][2]
Weight170 lb (77 kg)[2]
Sport
CountryUnited States
SportTrack and field
Event(s)
ClubMy Brother's Keeper Track Club[2]
Coached byJonathan Terry[2]
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)
  • 100 m: 10.04 (2022)[3]
  • 200 m: 19.49 (2022)

Biography

Knighton started participating in track and field in 2019 as a freshman at Hillsborough High School in Tampa, Florida. During his time there, he ran the second fastest time over 200 meters for an under-18 athlete in world history, clocking 20.33 seconds in the final at the 2020 USA Track & Field Junior Olympics in Satellite Beach, Florida.[2]

Knighton signed a sponsorship deal with Adidas in January 2021 at the age of 16, forgoing his remaining two years of amateur competition at Hillsborough High.[2] The same year, on May 2, he broke the 10-second barrier over 100 meters at the PURE Athletics Sprint Elite Meet in Clermont, Florida, with a time of 9.99 seconds, but the wind was over the +2.0 meters per second velocity limit (+2.7) for record consideration.[4]

On May 31, 2021, he set the world under-18 best in the boys' 200 meters, improving on Usain Bolt's under-18 best by two hundredths of a second to 20.11 seconds.[5][6] At the US Olympic Trials he would improve that time to 20.04 seconds in the first round on June 25, and then again on June 26 to 19.88 seconds in the semi-finals, improving on Bolt's world under-20 record by five hundredths of a second. He then improved to 19.84 in the final on June 27, beating his own record and qualifying for the 2020 Summer Olympics.

At the 2020 Summer Olympics, Knighton became the youngest male to represent the United States in track and field since Jim Ryun in 1964.[7] On August 3 he finished first in his 200-meter Olympic semi-final heat and qualified for an automatic spot in the final to be run the next day.[8] In the final he finished in fourth in 19.93 seconds.[7]

References
  1. "Erriyon Knighton". teamusa.org. USOC. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
  2. Hollobaugh, Jeff (February 2021). "Teen Sprint Sensation Erriyon Knighton Goes Pro". Track & Field News. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  3. "ATHLETE PROFILE Erriyon KNIGHTON". World Athletics. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  4. Mull, Cory (May 2, 2021). "Erriyon Knighton, 17, Drops Insane 9.99 For 100 Meters". MileSplit. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  5. Zaccardi, Nick (June 1, 2021). "Erriyon Knighton, 17-year-old pro sprinter, breaks Usain Bolt junior record". NBC Sports. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  6. Mulkeen, Jon (June 1, 2021). "Knighton breaks Bolt’s world U18 200m best with 20.11 in Jacksonville". World Athletics. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  7. "Tampa sprinter Erriyon Knighton places 4th in Olympic 200m final". 10 Tampa Bay. August 4, 2021. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  8. "Tokyo Olympics: Tampa teen Erriyon Knighton wins semi-final heat, moves onto 200-meter finals". Fox13 News. August 3, 2021. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
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