Erriyon Knighton

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Erriyon Knighton
File:Tortu Knighton Dwyer Oregon 2022.jpg
Knighton (USA jersey).
Personal information
Nationality American
Born (2004-01-29) January 29, 2004 (age 21)[1]
Tampa, Florida
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)[1][2]
Weight 170 lb (77 kg)[2]
Sport
Country United States
Sport Track and field
Event(s)
Club My Brother's Keeper Track Club[2]
Coached by Jonathan Terry[2] and Mike Holloway[3]
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)
  • 100 m: 10.04 (2022)[4]
  • 200 m: 19.49 (2022)
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing the  United States
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Eugene 200 m

Erriyon Knighton (born January 29, 2004) is an American sprinter specializing in the 100 meters and 200 meters events.[4] He currently holds the world under-18 record of 19.84, set on June 27, 2021 at the U.S. Olympic Trials, and world under-20 record in the 200 meters with a time of 19.49 seconds, set on April 30, 2022. This time also makes him the fifth-fastest athlete in history over 200 meters, with his time only surpassed by Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake, Noah Lyles, and Michael Johnson.[3] This time is also the fastest season opener over 200 meters ever.

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] He also played for Hillsborough's football team as a wide receiver; rated a four-star recruit by 247Sports.com, he received scholarship offers from schools including Alabama, Auburn, Florida State, and Florida.[5][6]

Knighton signed a sponsorship deal with Adidas in January 2021 at the age of 16 in his junior year of high school, 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.[7]

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.[8][9] 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.[10] 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.[11] In the final he finished in fourth in 19.93 seconds.[10]

References

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External links

Records
Preceded by Men's World Under-20 Record Holder, 200 metres
26 June 2021 – present		 Incumbent
Boys' World Under-18 Best Holder, 200 metres
31 May 2021 – present		 Incumbent
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Hollobaugh, Jeff (February 2021). "Teen Sprint Sensation Erriyon Knighton Goes Pro". Track & Field News. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "ATHLETE PROFILE Erriyon KNIGHTON". World Athletics. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Mull, Cory (May 2, 2021). "Erriyon Knighton, 17, Drops Insane 9.99 For 100 Meters". MileSplit. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  8. ↑ Zaccardi, Nick (June 1, 2021). "Erriyon Knighton, 17-year-old pro sprinter, breaks Usain Bolt junior record". NBC Sports. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  9. ↑ Mulkeen, Jon (June 1, 2021). "Knighton breaks Bolt’s world U18 200m best with 20.11 in Jacksonville". World Athletics. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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