Can Erriyon Knighton break 19 seconds for 200m?
The 18-year-old won World Championship bronze behind USA teammates Noah Lyles and Kenny Bednarek. But could he achieve something even the great Usain Bolt failed to do?
Athletics
Erriyon Knighton is the future of track and field.
The teenager was smashing records while still at school before taking World Championship bronze in July.
That made him the youngest individual sprint medallist in the history of the event.
Last year, while 17, Knighton clocked 19.84 at the U.S. Olympic Trials to break the world junior record previously held by a certain Usain Bolt.
And at April's LSU Invitational, he ran 19.49 to become the fourth fastest man in history.
Noah Lyles sent him down to fifth with his 19.31 to win gold at the Worlds in Eugene, Oregon ahead of Kenny Bednarek and Knighton in third.
Lyles is still only 25, but it is Knighton whose incredible times at such a young age mark him out as a potential threat to Bolt's world record of 19.19 and perhaps the 19-second barrier.
The fastest schoolboy in the world
Knighton's first sporting endeavours were in American football, but the pandemic saw him make the switch to sprinting with immediate results.
Thanks to his third place at last June's U.S. Olympic Trials, behind Lyles and Bednarek, Knighton made the United States team for Tokyo 2020.
He just missed out on the podium in the Japanese capital as Andre De Grasse took gold ahead of Bednarek with Lyles in third.
His reaction was one of disappointment, saying, "“I just never want to feel this feeling ever again. So, I just have to come back again."
The teenager showed he was in great shape at the start of the following season with a 100m personal best of 10.04 before running his first competitive 200m since his Tokyo setback.
He could not have been more impressive, running 19.49 to break into the all-time list.
In June, he was second behind Lyles at the U.S. Track and Field Championships with the reigning world champion finishing like a train and pointing somewhat provocatively as he passed his younger rival just metres before the line.
A month later, Lyles broke Michael Johnson's 26-year-old American record by one-hundredth of a second to retain his world title.
Bednarek - who took the fourth USA spot on offer in Eugene with Lyles defending his crown - matched his Olympic silver as Knighton claimed a first major medal.
The youngster blamed his performance on a poor start, saying, "I hit the right block with the side of my foot… it affected my acceleration phase, I can say that. You know I usually get out better than that and me hitting the side of the block just kind of messed my whole pattern up."
But the prospect of what's to come is what excites athletics fans.
In September, Johnson wrote about Knighton for TIME magazine's 2022 TIME100 Next list with the four-time Olympic gold medallist giving a glowing assessment of the 18-year-old
"The type of talent that he has is a very, very rare talent. I'd love to see him continue to succeed, and so far he’s shown that he’s up for the challenge." - Michael Johnson on Erriyon Knighton
Erriyon Knighton: ahead of Usain Bolt's trajectory
Knighton is running quicker 200m times than Bolt did at the same age.
He is also a long way ahead in terms of final appearances and major medals with Bolt claiming World Championship silver in 2007, days after his 21st birthday.
It was not until the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games that the Jamaican completed the 100m and 200m double, both in world record times, to truly arrive as a world star.
Time is definitely on Knighton's side who will be 20 when Paris 2024 comes around.
From 17 to 18, he took fully 0.35 off his personal best. An improvement of that magnitude again from 18 to 19 would see him break Bolt's world record and go close to that 19-second barrier.
While he may not have as much physical development to come as Bolt, who notably filled out his tall frame at the end of his teenage years, Knighton will now be able to focus fully on his track career having finished high school.
With two major international competitions already under his belt, Knighton's next goal is the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest in August.
Then, it's all about Paris where he will bid to make the podium for the first time at an Olympic Games.
Knighton told NBC Sports he was "kind of shocked" by his personal best run in April.
He added, "I knew it was coming, but I didn’t know it was coming this early into the season. I also didn’t know that it was going to come this early in my career, either. I thought I was going to run 19.4 when I’m like, 20 or something, like when I get stronger and older."
Coach Mike Holloway said, “We just need to be patient with him and not put expectations and stuff like that on him.”
But he admitted, "It’s hard when the guy’s breaking Bolt’s records."
And when Knighton does get "stronger and older", Bolt's 200m mark is most definitely in danger.
READ MORE: Lyles vs Knighton - the story so far
Top 10 Fastest Men's 200m in History
1 Usain Bolt (JAM) 19.19, 20 August 2009, Berlin World Championships
2 Yohan Blake (JAM) 19.26, 16 September 2011, Brussels World Championships
3 Usain Bolt (JAM) 19.30, 20 August 2008, Beijing Olympic Games
4 Noah Lyles (USA) 19.31, 21 July 2022, Eugene World Championships
5= Michael Johnson (USA) 19.32, 1 August 1996, Atlanta Olympic Games
5= Usain Bolt (JAM) 19.32, 9 August 2012, London Olympic Games
7 Usain Bolt (JAM) 19.40, 3 September 2011, Daegu World Championships
8 Yohan Blake (JAM) 19.44, 9 August 2012, London Olympic Games
9 Noah Lyles (USA) 19.46, 10 August 2022, Monaco Diamond League
10 Erriyon Knighton (USA) 19.49, 30 April 2022, LSU Invitational