Erriyon Knighton on life, patience and what it’s like to be “the fastest kid to ever walk on this planet”
The 19-year-old owner of the U-18 and U-20 200m world records is already operating on the level of the all-time greats. In an exclusive interview with Olympics.com he spoke about being the quickest teenager on earth, living a normal life outside of athletics, and how patience is his mantra.
Athletics
When US 400m runner Michael Cherry tweeted out “That boy got algebra on Monday” in response to a then 18-year-old Erriyon Knighton running 19.49 seconds in the 200m in April 2022, the replies in the comments section were a mixture of humour and disbelief.
World 4x400m relay gold medallist Twanisha Terry simply posted four crying faces. One coach replied “probably got prom next weekend”. Still another wrote “19.49… he’s Mr. Knighton now”.
Knighton’s own response was equally amusing - if also telling - as he tweeted two days later “I’m in algebra right now as we speak.”
It was a stark reminder of the immensity of what the teenager had accomplished in his season opener at the LSU Invitational.
He had become the fourth-fastest human in history over the 200m distance and the fastest-ever teenager, all while continuing the normal life of a student who was expected to show up to class, submit essays on time and graduate just like every other "kid" sat beside him.
But while Knighton was still doing the normal things other teenagers of his age were doing, his new status in athletics has changed the way he thinks of himself.
‘The way I think about it is I’m not necessarily the fastest kid in the nation,” Knighton explained in an exclusive interview with Olympics.com.
“I’m the fastest kid to ever walk on this planet.”
Teenage sensation Knighton mixing it with the greats
Knighton is the world U-18 and U-20 world record holder and in 2023 is running in his last season as a junior.
But maybe it’s time to stop talking about him as a kid.
To put his achievements into perspective, you have to compare him to the greatest senior runners in track & field history.
Olympic legend Usain Bolt only set four 200m times faster than Knighton’s 19.49 seconds - in his entire career. The great Michael Johnson only surpassed it once, while nine-time Olympic gold medallist Carl Lewis’s best time of 19.75 doesn’t even match the second fastest time Knighton has run: a 19.69 set in June 2022.
In fact, while the 19-year-old from Tampa, Florida may indeed be still a teenager, the times he has posted are among the best senior men’s efforts the world has ever seen.
And when asked about the few times that still stand ahead of his (four at time of writing following Noah Lyles’s 19.31 set at the 2022 World Athletics Championships), Knighton is philosophical. “I still have to knock them down one by one,” is his simple response.
Yet there is something about Knighton that, despite his superhuman speed, makes him as relatable as any other average kid at school.
“Mostly if I’m home and I’m not training, I’m home playing a game,” says Knighton, who lists God of War and Call of Duty among his favourites. “Sometimes I go fishing,” he continues, before listing bowling and eating out as other pastimes he enjoys. “I actually haven’t gone ziplining yet! I gotta go ziplining.”
Knighton is a prodigy on the track, but it’s refreshing to see that away from his day job he’s enjoying life in the same way other teenagers would.
Erriyon Knighton on Paris 2024 and how patience is the key to future success
Next year, the Olympic Games Paris 2024 take place. Knighton will be just 20 at the time.
Yet much is expected of the young sprinter who Michael Johnson described as the best bend runner he has ever seen and who has set himself a goal of running sub-19 seconds in the future.
“Yes, I am!” Knighton answered when asked whether he was excited about competing at the next Olympics. “Obviously I’ve never been there [to Paris] and it’s going to be one of my first times [racing in Europe] but I want to see what those fans are like because track & field overseas is serious. That’s one of their main sports, so it’s way more serious than it is in the US.”
If his career continues on its current trajectory, Knighton will be 24 when the 2028 Olympics take place in LA, 28 at Brisbane 2032 and only 32 in 2036 at an Olympics where the host nation hasn’t yet even been decided.
Promising athletes have fallen by the wayside in the past. Yet this one has his feet on the ground, with a mindset that if he listens to the right people, he may well be on a journey to greatness.
“You’ve got to put your trust in your coach no matter what,” said Knighton. “That’s exactly what I’m doing and I know that he will lead me on the right path. So I’m just being patient, not rushing anything.”
Still, that doesn't stop him dreaming about just what could be if he fulfils his immense potential in his sport.
"Just wanting to be one of the best ever," he replies when asked about what motivates him every day. "I mean, that's constantly what I think about. Just trying to be the number one on the list of all time... just wanting to be the world record holder."
Erriyon Knighton: The fastest kid on the planet in stats and numbers
- Age: 19
- Personal best 200m: 19.49 seconds (unratified)
- Personal best 100m: 10.04
- U-20 world record holder 200m: 19.69 seconds
- Under-18 world record holder 200m: 19.84 seconds
- Youngest-ever sprint World medallist: 200m bronze 2022 World Athletics Championships
- Youngest American male Olympic track athlete since 1964
- Youngest winner of a Diamond League race: Brussels, September 2022