Erriyon Knighton: Graduating to greatness

“I wish America loved track and field more. Because what this kid is doing is LeBron-esque. It is Venus-esque. It is Serena-esque,” said four-time Olympic medallist and current NBC commentator Ato Boldon after the LSU Invitational 200m race in late April.

The “kid” he was referring to wouldn’t graduate high school for another month, yet he was being spoken about in the same tones as some of the greatest sportspeople of all time.

His name? Erriyon Knighton.

The 18-year-old Knighton’s rise to stardom has involved a whirlwind year of broken records and historic firsts. So much so that it’s easy to forget that all of this has played out against the backdrop of everyday life that includes high school tests and math classes.

In a little more than a school year, Knighton became the youngest male in 57 years to make the USA Olympic team, placed fourth in the 200m final at Tokyo 2020 and became the then fourth-fastest 200m runner of all time with a 19.49-second run at the above-mentioned LSU Invitational.

To top it off, he also became the youngest person to win a 200m medal at a World Championships when he ran home third in July’s athletics showpiece in Oregon.

Perhaps Knighton’s Twitter exchange with U.S. Olympic 4x400m gold medallist Michael Cherry after his historic 19.49 summed up the situation best.

“That boy got algebra on Monday,” wrote Cherry.

”I’m in algebra right now as we speak,” replied Knighton.

READ MORE: Can Erriyon Knighton break Usain Bolt's world record?

A rising star with time on his side

Knighton’s Twitter feed is filled with references to this dual life he leads - that of a normal student and a potential all-time athletics great.

One post talks about him possibly skipping a high school graduation ceremony to compete in the Prefontaine Classic. Another references his high school graduation on 24 May and the fact that just two months later he was stood on the podium at the World Championships.

But while he is young enough to still only be 20 when he competes at the next Olympic Games in Paris, there is a steely determination in the athlete that is so often the mark of champions.

“I just never want to feel this feeling ever again,” Knighton remarked after coming fourth in the Olympic 200m final aged only 17. “So, I just have to come back again.”

This year, he achieved his goal of making the podium at the Worlds. But even then, the first thing he pointed to was future improvement - the spirit of a student who still knows he has much to learn.

“You still gotta stay hungry and want more,” he said in an interview following his bronze medal race.

READ MORE: Top things to know about Erriyon Knighton

Knighton in a race of his own

It’s easy to make comparisons between Knighton and some of the world’s greatest sprinters. After all, he has broken Olympic great Usain Bolt’s world under 18 and under 20 records over 200 metres within a year.

He also faces the current challenge of his compatriot Noah Lyles, who stormed to victory at last month’s World Athletics Championships, breaking Michael Johnson’s long-standing American record and overtaking Knighton in the all-time list of fastest 200m runners in the process.

But for Knighton, the focus remains steadfastly on himself.

“I just want to keep shaving down on my personal best,” he said in early May. “I want the world record. But if it doesn’t come, I won’t be really bothered about it. I’ve still got 10 years left.”

It’s difficult to predict the ceiling of an athlete like Knighton who has achieved so much but is still so green in the sport. He admitted last year in an interview with the BBC that four years ago “you could have asked me what 100m was and I wouldn't have known.”

However, it’s also difficult not to get excited by this teenager who is taking the athletics world by storm. The 0.35 seconds he lowered his PB by over the past year puts him on a trajectory to break Bolt’s world record - if only things were that easy.

But with hard work and a willingness to learn, this sprinting prodigy is on the right track to graduate to greatness.

READ MORE: Lyles vs Knighton - the story so far