Tag: Erriyon Knighton

HS senior Erriyon Knighton becomes 4th-fastest 200m runner in history

Erriyon Knighton, who broke Usain Bolt’s teenage record, set a blistering 200-meter time to break his own record.

Erriyon Knighton gained notoriety in 2021 as he broke Usain Bolt’s teenage U20 200m record and competed in the Olympics at the age of 17, the youngest male U.S. track athlete to do so in 57 years.

On April 30, Knighton broke the U20 record once again. With a scorching time of 19.49, Knighton became the fourth-fastest runner in the world, according to the NBC Olympics Twitter account. Only three runners have eclipsed that time.

NBC added that Knighton’s time is the fastest anyone has run the 200-meter since the 2012 Olympics.

Here is a video of Knighton running in the LSU Invitational in Baton Rouge. Running in lane five, he took a giant lead around the bend and was not seriously challenged after.

The only three people to have beaten Knighton’s time of 19.49 seconds are Bolt, who has done it four times and set the record of 19.19, Yohan Blake (19.26 seconds in 2011) and Michael Johnson (19.32 seconds in 1996), according to NBC Sports.

From here? Knighton returns to class. The night of the LSU Invitational was four weeks out from his high school graduation, NBC Sports wrote.

The Hillsborough High School (Tampa, Fla.) student went professional in January 2021 and is currently an adidas runner, according to NBC Sports.

Report: 16-year-old sprint phenom Erriyon Knighton signs with Adidas

16-year-old sprint phenom Erriyon Knighton is reportedly going pro.

16-year-old sprint phenom Erriyon Knighton is going pro.

According to Track and Field News, Knighton has decided to sign with Adidas and forego his remaining high school eligibility. Knighton will no longer compete at Hillsborough High School in Florida.

“I know I can maximize to the next level,” Knighton said. “I’ve got to see what I can do. I want to win against the top athletes, but I know they’re not going to make it easy on me, so I’m going to have to train real hard.”

Knighton is currently both the sophomore national class and AAU Junior Olympic 200m record holder. Former pro sprinters and current Stellar Athletics agents Ramon Clay and John Regis will reportedly represent Knighton.

RELATED: Five-star DE J.T. Tolomolau is the top remaining unsigned 2021 recruit

In addition to his track and field career, Knighton was also a star on the gridiron for Hillsborough as a four-star wide receiver according to 247Sports with offers from Florida, Florida State, Illinois, Iowa State, Tennessee and Toledo.

“Knowing that I grew up around football my whole life, and receiving a lot of D1 offers, it was a tough decision, but it was also a no-brainer,” Knighton said. “In track, the success of my career is fully in my hands, and I know that I can do it.”

Knighton is just the fifth high school sprinter to turn pro since 2015, but the third to do so in the last year.

“More athletes, they’re trying to make that jump early,” Adidas professional coach Gary Evans told flrunners.com. “As of right now, we’re 0-for-2 on that. So now we have the next three: Tamari [Davis], Briana [Williams] and Erriyon. I’m hoping one of these athletes can change that, that they can come straight out of high school and be pro. I’m hoping one of these next three can change the perspective.”