Usain Bolt’s longstanding junior 200m record was shattered by Florida teenager Erriyon Knighton at an American Track League meet in Jacksonville, Florida, on May 31.
Knighton, who turned 17 in January, ran down Olympic 100m favorite Trayvon Bromell to win the 200m in 20.11, shaving 0.02 seconds off Bolt’s 2003 time. At the time when the Jamaican sprinter set the record, he was 16-years-old.
Knighton chose to turn professional while a junior at Tampa Hillsborough High School. Bromell, the year’s fastest at 9.88 in the 100m, finished second in 20.20, his best since 2015.
The field also included a pair of Britons: Zharnel Hughes (who took gold at the 2018 European championships) and Adam Gemili (fourth at the 2016 Olympics and 2019 worlds).
Knighton is qualified to race at the US Olympic trials that start in two weeks at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. He is younger than any US Olympic male track and field athlete since miler Jim Ryun in 1964, according to Olympedia.org.
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 took up sprinting in his freshman year of high school after his football coach asked him to join the track team, according to his high school’s newspaper. As a wide receiver, he reportedly received offers to play for college football powers Alabama, Florida and Florida State.
