Erriyon Knighton on his goals for the 200m: “I actually want to go sub-19”

On 30 April 2022, Erriyon Knighton became the fourth-fastest 200m runner in recorded human history when he stormed home in 19.49 seconds in his season opener at the LSU Invitational. He was 18 years old.

Olympics.com spoke to the fastest teenager on earth, who runs in the 200m heats at the 2023 World Athletics Championships on 23 August, about just how quick he can become and his goals for the future.

“I actually want to go sub-19,” he told us when asked about how fast it was possible to run a 200m. “I don’t want to say it’s possible. It’s possible, but you just never know... Only one human went under 19.20.”

That human was none other than Usain Bolt, the 100m and 200m senior world record holder who won the Olympic golds in both events at Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Rio 2016.

And Knighton, who turned 19 in January 2023, has the half-lap record of the Jamaican firmly in his sights as he looks forward to a career that could take in the Paris 2024, LA 2028 and Brisbane 2032 Olympics by the time he's 28.

“Anybody’s going to want to beat the record of the all-time great, but at the same time, I still have to knock each down one by one,” he says. “It’s not going to be an easy task, it’s going to be hard. I definitely think I can do it but it’s just I have got to work hard and to really have a lot of self-confidence.”

Erriyon Knighton: No slowing the fastest teenager in history

Part of that confidence can come from the fact that he is by far the greatest 200m runner in junior history. Knighton holds the 11 fastest U20 times in history, with Bolt’s first appearance on the list being a joint-twelfth place of 19.93.

Bolt only ran sub-20 twice as a junior, in 2004 and 2005, while Knighton has broken the barrier on 14 occasions in his fledgling career.

His progression feels similar to other great torch passings in sport, like the rise of Mike Tyson in the mid-1980s to take on the impossible role of boxing’s greatest heavyweight following the retirement of Muhammad Ali at the beginning of the decade.

Once again now, we have someone who is young, hungry and blessed with a raw talent that makes him seem destined for the very pinnacle of the sport.

Knighton's just in no mood to slow down.

“Knowing that I have one more year [as a junior] that means I got to go rewrite the history books once again. So my last year under 20, that’s the plan.”

Now that's fighting talk.

If you think what Erriyon Knighton has achieved already is impressive, just consider this

For anyone hoping to hold onto their place in the world 200m rankings, Knighton’s rise has an ominous feel to it. Moreso when you consider he’s still learning a trade that takes many, many hard years of training to master.

Already the under-18 and under-20 world record holder, the Florida native became the youngest individual sprinter to win a World Championship medal when he won bronze in Oregon in 2022. Incredibly, his journey in track & field only began four years ago in 2019 when he made the decision to switch from American Football to athletics.

But scarier than the success he has had despite his inexperience in the sport are the ways in which the young athlete feels he can improve in the years to come.

“I don’t run a perfect 200,” he revealed. “People ask me how I run a 200 and I just tell them I just get out there and run it. Like I don’t really have a race strategy.

“But once I learn how to actually run the event and get in sync with it, then I think it’ll be a great time to see me run a 200.”

Even Knighton’s physical development is still at a relatively early stage, as the athlete revealed that he’s started “lifting weights now” which will see him increase his power and explosiveness as he takes aim at the world record.

And the mental strategies that many runners use to prepare for a race are only just being implemented into Knighton’s race-day plan.

“I’m trying to do it,” he says of the tips he has been given by other athletes since turning pro. “I feel like if I do it it’ll probably make me a better runner.”

It all adds up to a mouthwatering scenario in an event where every one per cent gained can mean over two metres on the track.

“What gets me going is just wanting to be the world record holder and realising how far I came and what I have done," Knighton summarises. "And what I still can do with growing and everything.”