The first person to see his potential was Coach Joseph Sipp, the head track coach and a football coach. 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. ", Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters. Stay updated on the latest news with our carefully curated newsletters, Discover the latest news and more with instant updates, Who is Erriyon Knighton? The home team holler on the touchline as their man's easy, fluid stride eats up the field and carries him to the endzone. That means he bested legendary Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolts under-20 record, too. As Knighton unfolded his 6-foot-3 frame from the starting blocks, he sometimes dragged his left, or trailing, foot on the track. He was very aggressive in blocking, had three unnecessary roughness penalties last year, Garcia 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. John Regis, agent of Knighton and the 200m record-holder in the UK, has some insights. If she asked him to put his toys away, he would do it running. Garcia, now 68 as Knightons football coach at Hillsborough, was a freshman football player at Washburn University in Topeka in 1970 when he befriended Ryun, who lived in Topeka and used the schools whirlpool to help with a leg injury as he trained between Olympics. Obviously, hes an extremely talented young man, but the thing that separates him from the average 17-year-old is his poise, Holloway said. He continued to play football through his junior season as a wide receiver and a safety who could squat 500 pounds and deadlift 450. As a 16-year-old at the 2020 Junior Olympics, Knighton ran the 100 in 10.29 and the 200 in 20.33 a national age group record. You couldnt get him tired, he said. At the time, Knighton wrote on Instagram I know my potential, I see the greatness in me everytime I see my reflection. He was also a part of the brands Impossible Is Nothing campaign, which launched in April. As Knighton competed in Oregon, Sipp watched on TV from home with his family, cheering him on, especially in Sunday nights finals, which were held after midnight back in Tampa. It's breaking us," his father joked. 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In 2018, he was inducted into theMissouri Sports Hall of Fame. But international expectation is a heavy weight to put on the narrow shoulders of a teenage sprinter, no matter how precocious. Erriyon Knighton is now the fourth-fastest man over 200 metres in recorded human history. "We flew in late Monday, had to check in early Tuesday, practice, get ready for Wednesday morning usually we treat these like business trips," his dad 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. World champion @LylesNoah is TOKYO-BOUND! Twelve years after Ryun achieved the feat, sprinter Dwayne Evans also made the Olympics at 17, just a few months older than Knighton is now, and won bronze in the 200-meter in Montreal in 1976. He just goes out, trusts the process. People often ask whether he wants to be the next Usain Bolt. "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. Well, practically, anyway. The gun went off. Zango produced one of the first stand-out performances of 2021. Is this a Doctor Strange teaser, or a CGI error? There are deep passes down the sideline, jet sweeps that show his ability to pull away from people. Knighton had turned professional in January 2021, days before his 17th birthday. Knighton has a chance to continue what has been a wildly successful run for sports in Tampa, with the NHLs Tampa Bay Lightning now three wins away from repeating as Stanley Cup champions, baseballs Tampa Bay Rays coming off a World Series appearance and the NFLs Tampa Bay Buccaneers and quarterback Tom Brady winning the Super Bowl in Tampa in February and now seeking another title. When it turns gray, click the refresh icon that has appeared next to it or click the button below to continue. With the Tokyo Olympics getting underway later this month and a 200m personal best of 19.84 seconds, 2021 could be the year of Erriyon Knightons making. Students, teachers, cafeteria workers, custodians, the place erupted, said Eric Brooks, the schools athletic director. 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. 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). Not Bolt, not anyone. 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. 2023 Hypebeast Limited. Hes going to have quite an experience, and I know the Lord will give him the right things to say, the right things to do, Ryun said by phone Tuesday night. He followed the decision made by Tamari Davis, a then-16-year-old who also turned pro in January of 2020. At the Tokyo Games, Knighton, at 17, was the youngest American track Olympian since the renowned miler Jim Ryun in 1964. I was running what pros were running, Knighton said. I dont really show emotions toward stuff like that.. But when he took off from the line, he was in first, and he was surprised. "I only started running track in the ninth grade," Knighton remembered. I really try not to get caught up in the pressure. At the Olympic trials last June, he twice shattered Bolts world junior record in the 200, posting his then-career best of 19.84. Knighton didnt notice he was fast until that Junior Olympics race. Erriyon Knightons Parents ( Father, Mother), Siblings. Erriyon Knighton (born January 29, 2004) is an American sprinter specializing in the 100 meters and 200 meters. You may have to select a menu option or click a button. The comparison is an honor, Knighton said, but, no, he doesnt want to be the next Bolt. A corrupt copper and a Leeds gangster are bound together by decades of dishonesty, The grime artist turned chef takes inspiration from the social media queen's Swedish and Somali roots, Eight Brits fight for survival in this adrenalin-fuelled competition, hosted by Jordan North. "That Tokyo experience is something no-one can ever take from you, I will always have that experience. He is back in school, walking the corridors of Hillsborough High School in Tampa, Florida, brushing shoulders with current class-mates and former football team-mates. He never stopped training, said Sipp, himself a four-year starting center in college at the University of South Florida. Your email address will not be published. He trusts Coach (Terry) with his life, and thats big. In January 2021, months before the Tokyo Games, he turned professional, signing a contract with Adidas and hiring John Regis, a British three-time Olympian and a U.K. record-holder in the 200, as one of his agents. Youll usually find this icon in the upper right-hand corner of your screen. Erriyon Knighton stands a good 6 foot 3 inches tall and has not stopped growing compared to Bolts 6 foot 5 inches tall. And we'll all be back together, but with a lot more fireworks.". Sipp said Knighton wasnt expecting much of himself. But two years ago, he was afraid of the Armwood and Tech guys.. The triple jumper from Burkina Faso bounded out to a I guess he wanted to show everybody he could make it work.. After his freshman year, Knighton joined a summer track team. 19.84 is one of the fastest times ever run at that age. To score more touchdowns. Over the quarantine summer, the summer Knighton made the AAU record, Knighton trained with Coach Sipp and a coach from AAU. He saw it as training to bea quicker receiver, to be able sprint faster than the defense and to take off as soon as the football touched his hands. meet. One of our greatest Terrier traditions continues! He understands what he stands for and what hes representing., It was a blazing 200 meters by the entire group and a tight finish but Erriyon Knighton did ithe finished 3rd to make the Olympic team as a 17 year old. On some weekends, he goes to Gainesville to train with the coach at the University of Florida. He goes about his business the right way and takes this very seriously. TAMPA, Fla. When Erriyon Knighton, a few months past his 18th birthday, became the fourth-fastest 200-meter runner in history on April 30, his fellow sprinter Michael Cherry tweeted in amazement, That boy got algebra on Monday.. Congrats, to Joe Sipp for seeing the potential in Erriyon as a track & field athlete. The 17-year-old from Tampa, Fla., has made a dramatic rise in track, including knocking down an under-18 world record set by Jamaican track legend Usain Bolt in 2003. As you watch the footage,external-link you can hear one voice from the stands swear in disbelief as the stagger unfurls and the extent of Knighton's yawning advantage is revealed. "It could have gone differently if high school season was still going," he told BBC Sport. The shock brought some awkwardness in his hips and he ended up letting the guy behind him beat him, so he placed second. Knighton is self-assured, diligent and fearless, unmoved by fame, his coaches said. This week, his son's performancessoothed his soul. "Both got me the same results so far, so I don't know. That under-18 world record set by Bolt? It can go wrong in a lot of ways, said Peter Weyand, a biomechanics expert at Southern Methodist University who researches elite sprinters. "Last year, I was just at Junior Olympics, so yeah, I mean, I'm here now it feels really good," he said. According to an HHS Today article from February 2021, Knighton was a receiver for the high school football team. The Background of the Usain Bolt-Beating Sprinter, Who Is Stan Smith? 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After crushing Usain Bolts under-18 and under-20 200m records at this weekends Track & Field Olympic Team Trials, 17 year old Erriyon Knighton etched his name into athletics history to become the youngest American male to make be a part of the Olympic team since Jim Ryun in 1964. In addition to Terry, Knighton has had a few training sessions with University of Florida track coach Mike Mouse Holloway, who has worked directly with Team USA and has coached nine medal-winning athletes and at least one competitor in every Olympics since 1992. I was just running, he said. News from Hillsborough High School in Tampa, Fla. His training is low volume. "I told him he's going to (eventually) have to do what I did steak and rice, or chicken and rice, and other combinations like that. Knighton is up for the Mens Rising Star Award along with French pole vaulter Anthony Ammirati, Jamaican triple jumper Jaydon Hibbert, Botswanan sprinter Letsile Tebogo and Kenyan 800m runner Emmanuel Wanyonyi. Knighton's decision marks the third time in a year that a high school sprint athlete has turned pro. Tokyo 2020 marks Knighton's first Olympic Games. And while that contract has made his life more comfortable, his high school newspaper reported that his life is still pretty normal: "Switching back and forth from his parent's houses, visiting grandparents and cousins on the weekends, going bowling with his mom, and dreaming, not too unrealistically, of buying a Dodge Charger as his first car.". ", More:Four-star football recruit Erriyon Knighton of Tampa breaks national 200-meter mark. In 2018, he was also a part of the Armwood and Tech..... Me the same results so far, so he placed second Stan Smith in 2018 he. Blocks, he doesnt want to be the next Usain Bolt will always have that experience followed the decision by... The world is just starting to see what hes able to do in track and field himself a four-year center!, which launched in April the sideline, jet sweeps that show his to. 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