But his decision to turn professional in January 2021, still aged just 16, was a big one. He just didnt want it to become serious. With comparisons to retired Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolttwo of whose 200-meter youth records were broken by Knightonthe pressure will be there for the teenage Florida native at Wednesday's final. Unlike many Olympic hopefuls, athletics is a relatively new sport for Knighton. Erriyon Knighton, a 17-year-old whose 19.88 in the semifinals broke Bolts under-20 record, took third with a time of 19.84. He also marked his personal-best record of 19.88 seconds in a heat that included world champion Noah Lyles, another Team USA athlete heading to the 200-meter final at Tokyo 2020. He finished fourth in 19.93 seconds behind the Olympic champion Canadian Andre De Grasse, silver medallist Kenny Bednarek, and bronze At the Tokyo Games, Knighton, at 17, was the youngest American track Olympian since the renowned miler Jim Ryun in 1964. It speaks to the talent Gods given him and the coaching hes received, and obviously, its paid off well.. 17-year-old Erriyon Knighton is the youngest male Olympian to make the 200m final since 1984. The basic measure of speed is stride length times stride frequency. But, it's in vain. I don't think he was too surprised at getting the record.". Erriyon Knighton stands at a wonderful height of 6 feet 3 inches when it comes to his physical look. Since turning professional in January 2021 shortly after his 17th birthday Knighton has clocked a plethora of wins, tournaments and trophies, which has seen his net worth rise to around $200,000 USD. You couldnt get him tired, he said. I could make sure he was getting the right amount of sleep and eating right, so it was better that he stayed with us.. https://www.hhstoday.com/life/2021/02/25/erriyon-knighton-the-sprinter/#comment-89567. A two-minute highlight reel shows not only his quickness but a shiftiness and ability to weave through defenders, scoring 15 touchdowns in his two seasons of varsity ball. Some people dont know whats going on they think I dropped out of high school, but I be here everyday, he said. Knighton, who ranks seventh among Americans in the 200m since the start of this year, will face stiff competition to crack the top three and make the US Olympic team with Noah Lyles, Kenny Bednarek and Terrance Laird (who have each run 19.81 or faster) having separated themselves from the pack. When COVID put the world on hold last summer, the pandemic pushed back the Olympics a year, and that time allowed Knighton to improve enough to put a dream within reach much sooner. Some goes to his phone bill and some to his mom. Then, he breezed through the semifinal, winning yet again. All Rights Reserved. title at Baylor University. This wasnt a track kid playing football but the opposite, with a physicality normally reserved for defensive players. Two months after graduating from high school, US sprinter Erriyon Knighton stood on the podium in Oregon having become the youngest men's 200m runner ever to medal at a World Athletics Championships. Hypebeast is a registered trademark of Hypebeast Hong Kong Ltd. Gain access to exclusive interviews with industry creatives, think pieces, trend forecasts, guides and more. But when his coach asked him to join track in his freshman year, he committed. We bring the power and the strength, and hes got the speed, Sipp said. But he slept on his mom's lap the whole night.". "He had a good meet," Christian said. Sipp remembers how he didnt always have the confidence he now carries on the track. The Big Red Boys & Girls Track & Field programs are well coached and represented! Contact Grossman at 321-242-3676 or hgrossman@floridatoday.com. Hes a phenom.. The UnitedMasters exec is building a system that puts the power back into the hands of the creators.. He thinks it would be much harder for him to keep working if he didnt. Dad's just harder on me, I guess.". Knighton also made the Time 100 Next list announced Sept. 28, along with 17-year-old figure skater Ilia Malinin. I said, Excuse me. Now everyone just walks past me just like, 'Hey, Erriyon'. Hes like a baby colt thats born and can barely walk, Holloway said. He tore away from the rest immediately, a blue sweat band around his head, long blue spandex shorts and tank top to match. As. ", Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters. It wasnt hurting me, I just kept running.. I think its safe to say his high school football career is over. Bolt, who won gold in the 100 and 200 in three straight Olympics, retired in 2017, but a 19.84 would have taken the silver behind him in 2008 and 2016 and would have tied for third in 2012. "In Tokyo, I was kinda upset that I had lost, but I just had to think about the big picture and the long run," added Knighton, who turned 18 in January. Bromell, the years fastest at 9.88 in the 100m, finished second in 20.20, his best since 2015. At the age of 18, he won the bronze medal in the 200 m at the 2022 World Athletics Championships, becoming the youngest ever individual sprint medalist in Championships history. But when he took off from the line, he was in first, and he was surprised. His head perfectly still, arms pumping but relaxed, a light wind at his back, Knighton drew away from the field with each long stride. Holloway told him, I dont want you to ever forget how you feel right now; and remember, you dont ever want to feel this way again.. Celebrities take on challenges in sub-zero temperatures with Wim Hof. The kid who can nearly dunk a basketball, and who likes playing football and baseball back home in Nixa, Missouri,can bench press 210 pounds. He finished just off the podium in Wednesday's final. Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. He watches a lot of film, studies his competitors. Knighton, who aspires to go to medical school, started running his freshman year when his football coach said it could help make him faster as a wide receiver. But there is a link below. It Could Help You, Too, U.S. Takes Olympic Gold And Silver In The Fastest Women's 400 Meter Hurdle Race Ever. Knighton, who ranks seventh among Americans in the 200m since the start of this year, will face stiff competition to crack the top three and make the US Olympic team with Noah Lyles, Kenny Bednarek and Terrance Laird (who have each run 19.81 or faster) having separated themselves from the pack. Knighton thought about the possibility of being recruited for college track that would be taken away with the Adidas contract. He was just a receiver for the football team. Congratulations Erriyon. Knighton didnt notice he was fast until that Junior Olympics race. He has run only four races this season. Knighton noticed that the workouts for track were much harder than football. Jackson is certainly a chip off the block, weighing a reported 11 pounds, 2 ounces at birth. Photo: Andy Lyons / Getty Images). "Right now, I guess you'd call it asemi-normal diet," Christian said. Miki Kimura: Keeping in Touch With Her Japanese Culture, Keeley Seymour: Teaching Dance Step-by-Step, Krishna Kothiya: Reflecting on Her Years of Education in India, Anavut Synakorn Creates Not Only the Art, but the Characters Too, Brian Ginn: Math Teacher, Rock Connoisseur, and Coca-Cola Fanatic, Catalena Palomino: How a Service Project Inspired Her Future Career, Stefanie Zimmermans Commitment Holds the Soccer Team Together, Annslee Maloy Finds Independence From Her Sail Boat, Jazmyn Wajds Fasion Isnt as Effortless as It Appears. Yohan Blake of Jamaica, the 2012 Olympic silver Expectations that day were as wispy as the tailwind. Over the quarantine summer, the summer Knighton made the AAU record, Knighton trained with Coach Sipp and a coach from AAU. It was his third straight national title, and fourth in five years, dating back to the 8-under class. American Ronnie Baker won the mens 100m in 9.99 seconds and six-times Olympic gold medallist Allyson Felix ran her fastest 400m since 2018, clocking 50.66. "You're running against grown men, so you've got to do everything you can to beat them," he said. He had been sprinting for a little over a year, after being encouraged to do so by his football coach as a way to sharpen his game as a wide receiver. Last updated on 12 April 202212 April 2022.From the section Athletics, Erriyon Knighton's Twitter biography is short and to the point: "Professional track athlete.". I really try not to get caught up in the pressure. Southeastern Conference powers including Georgia and Alabama showed interest. Knighton started playing football when he was seven. Erriyon Knighton (born January 29, 2004) is an American sprinter specializing in the 100 meters and 200 meters. It's breaking us," his father joked. Not Bolt, not anyone. I didnt grow up with his name; I grew up with my name, Knighton said recently over a leisurely lunch with his other coach, Jonathan Terry, who operates a Tampa track club called My Brothers Keeper. Joe Sipp remembers first seeing Knighton the summer before his freshman year at Hillsborough, when he attended a conditioning workout for football players. His start was flawed and he could not match the power of the medalists down the homestretch. To score more touchdowns. 19.84 is one of the fastest times ever run at that age. Hes learning how to run, how to use his mechanics, how to maximize every inch, Terry said. If anyone can appreciate the challenge of running for your country at such a tender age, its Jim Ryun, once the first high schooler to run a four-minute mile and now 74 and retired after a post-Olympic career that included 10 years in Congress in his native Kansas. At the time when the Jamaican sprinter set the record, he was 16-years-old. But he got away cleanly at the L.S.U. 2023 www.floridatoday.com. He continued to play football through his junior season as a wide receiver and a safety who could squat 500 pounds and deadlift 450. A final defender comes haring across, all pumping thighs and straining arms. When I used to run at Juniors, or youth, you don't have to run that fast. I just have to keep training hard every day, stay focused and put a good race together., (Top illustration: John Bradford / The Athletic. After that race, he gestured to "Knighton" on his bib, as if to say, "Remember this name.". WebAt the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, so many American athletes gave amazing performances including Paul Chelimo and Kenny Bednarek. And as we approach this years much-anticipated Tokyo Olympic Games, we take a closer look at the 6 3 sprinting prodigy and ask: who is Erriyon Knighton? The next Olympics are only three years off, so Knighton can build on whatever hes able to do in Tokyo when hes 20 and competing for a spot in Paris in 2024, or even at age 24 when the Olympics are in Los Angeles in 2028. Due to the Adidas contract, Knighton cant run for Hillsborough anymore. A link that, via a search and scroll, leads to footage of an athlete who is neither on the track, nor professional. Jackson was born just a few months before his dad claimed the silver medal in Beijing. The 6-foot-4, 206-pound native of Missouri the son offormer Team USA Olympians devoured his competition at this week's AAU National Junior Olympics Track & Field eventmuch like he manhandles those foot-long steak and cheese subshe often craves. He also won a bronze medal at that distance at the 2015 world track championships. At the Olympic trials in June, Knighton recorded the fastest time in the semifinal of the men's 200-meter event. Perhaps, Knighton matches Bolt using the same criteria that made the Jamaican great. Required fields are marked *, John Walker Jul 28, 2021 at 2:49 pm. "I've got to qualify for the heat so don't exert too much energy, really," he said, appearing relaxed and confident. But Bromell tore an Achilles tendon at the 2016 Rio Olympics and did not reach the 100-meter final in Tokyo despite being a gold medal favorite. The triple jumper from Burkina Faso bounded out to a "Hopefully, by next year, our country will all be better off (ifthe COVID-19 pandemic ends) when they come up with a vaccine. I told him a long time ago: He has no idea what hes doing, he said. Should Knighton remain healthy and qualify for the world championships in July, he would be expected by many to win a medal, and possibly to finish atop the podium. He starts his day with like 10 eggs in the morning and likes a pound of ribeye every night. Field programs are well coached and represented 200-meter event at the time when the Jamaican.. Sprinter set the record, Knighton recorded the fastest Women 's 400 Meter Hurdle Race Ever a medal! At the time when the Jamaican sprinter set the record, Knighton trained with coach Sipp and coach..., erriyon ' surprised at getting the record, he was in first, he!: he has no idea what hes doing, he committed defender comes haring across, all pumping thighs straining... 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