Erriyon Knighton, the great promise of American athletics. Photo: AFP
American Erriyon Knighton, just 18, was founded this Saturday in Baton Rouge a new Under 20 world record for the 200 meter dash. And not only that: with his amazing record he stands out fourth on the all-time universal list in the absolute category. Yes, the boy flew to Louisiana and was looking for one of the great scores of the legendary Usain Bolt.
Knighton, who finished fourth at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, stopped the clock at 19.49, with legal winds of +1.4 m/s, to put himself on the all-time list behind three specialty legends : Jamaican Bolt (19). : 19) and Yohan Blake (19:26) and American Michael Johnson (19:32).
Yes, old Erriyon, who in his early teens seemed determined to be a football player, is already a new American speed prodigy.
With coach Jonathan Terry, Knighton approached the good game under the premise of being a better prospect in his dream of reaching the NFL.
Although he has been scouted by several talented football teams at the university level, stratospheric records have propelled him to become a professional in athletics. In fact, in 2021 and at the age of 17, he became the youngest U.S. Olympic representative in nearly six decades.
And he didn’t fail in Tokyo 2020: he won the first semifinal of the 200 meters, calmly looking from side to side, with a time of 20.02 and then in the end he was nowhere near the podium in the Japanese capital.
Erriyon Knighton. Photo on Instagram @erriyon.k
His name jumped on the international scene in the early days of June 2021 when he broke the Under 18 200-meter world record in Jacksonville with a 20s11 record that lowered the previous record of two hundred, held by Bolt himself. .
“As much as I love football, after I run, I have to give 110 percent to the track. I think that’s what’s best for me and for what’s in the future. I can’t give up now,” he released. he that day. He had previously been the face of Adidas and had joined the ranks of the company Stellar Athletics, representing luminaries in athletics such as Grant Holloway, one of the titans of the 110 meter hurdles.
He added: “I know my potential. I see greatness in me every time I see my reflection.” Yes, he has no issue with self -esteem …
And he made it clear that he was not resting on his laurels. Days later, on June 27 of the same year, he set the U20 world record for the first time in the 19.84s he set at an athletic event held in Eugene. Then came the fourth place in Tokyo. And now comes this brand that leaves him sailing for a record that seems no longer impossible to beat.
Source: EFE
Source: Clarin
