Goodbye Allyson Felix, hello Erriyon Knighton: Welcome to the new era of US sprinting at the 2022 World Championships
As US legend Allyson Felix waves a fond farewell to athletics at the end of the season, many young American sprinters are hoping to make their mark on the international scene at the Track and Field World Championships in Oregon. Discover five speedsters who represent the future of American short-distance running below.
Athletics
It’s not often that you say goodbye to a legend like Allyson Felix. The most decorated woman in Olympics track and field history has announced her retirement with the upcoming World Athletics Championships, where she will compete in the 4x400m relay, the last major tournament of her career.
This behemoth of the sport hangs up her spikes after a career in which she won 11 Olympic medals and - so far - 18 world championships medals. The hole left by such a presence, both on and off the track, can seem like an unfillable void.
However, for the next generation, standing on the shoulders of such a giant, there is a bright future lying in front of them - starting with the Track and Field World Championships that take place between 15 and 24 July in Eugene, Oregon.
From Erriyon Knighton to Abby Steiner, find out everything you need to know about the new generation of US sprinting stars below.
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Erriyon Knighton, men's 200m
Just 18 years old and with the world at his feet, Erriyon Knighton has already sprinted himself into the history books by becoming the under 18 and under 20 200m world record holder, taking both marks from the great man himself, Jamaica’s Usain Bolt.
More recently, Knighton became the fourth-fastest 200m runner in history by posting 19.49 seconds at the LSU Invitational in April 2022. It puts him behind only Bolt, Yohan Blake and Michael Johnson on the all-time list of male runners over the distance.
Knighton experienced his first Olympic Games at Tokyo 2020, coming home fourth in the 200m final to just miss out on the podium. However it is his rapid rise this year, where he shaved 0.35 seconds off of his personal best, that has set tongues wagging before the World Athletics Championships.
While Knighton finished second at the USA Track and Field Championships, behind compatriot Noah Lyles - himself the fifth-fastest 200m runner in history - he will be aiming for nothing less than the top step of the podium in Oregon.
And whispers around the athletics community have suggested he may even challenge the senior world record of the great Jamaican, as he edges closer to the 19.19 Bolt set at the 2009 World Athletics Championships in Berlin.
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Abby Steiner, women's 200m
This 2022 season has really been the turning point for 22-year-old University of Kentucky track star Abby Steiner. While an Achilles injury left her unable to compete in last year’s US trials, scuppering her dreams of a place at the Olympics, Steiner has bounced back this year in impressive fashion.
Just two weeks before the US trials, Steiner soared to victory at the NCAA Track and Field Championships, setting a then world lead time of 21.80 seconds, which was also an all-time NCAA record.
She went even better at the nationals, winning the final in 21.77 to qualify for the Track and Field World Championships in Oregon. In a frantic day of action, the new world lead was overtaken just hours later, as Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson set the third-fastest time ever recorded by a woman at the Jamaican National Championships as she crossed the line in 21.55.
But much is expected of Steiner when she takes to the track in Hayward Field and aims to dent the dominance of the Jamaican sprint team of Jackson, Elaine Thompson-Herah and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.
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Michael Norman, men's 400m
A world junior champion at 200m who has dipped well under 10 seconds for the 100m and 20 for the 200, the multi-talented Michael Norman will be racing in the 400m at the World Athletics Championships.
And there’s a good reason why.
The 24-year-old 2019 Diamond League winner has a personal best of 43.45 in the 400m, making him the joint fourth-fastest man over the distance in history.
While a fifth place at Tokyo 2020 is nothing to be sniffed at, the Californian athlete, who also won the 4x400 relay at the last Olympics, will be aiming much higher at the upcoming Worlds as he attempts to win the gold medal.
And many would not be surprised if he soon comes close to challenging the world record of 43.03 set by Wayde van Niekerk at the Olympic Games Rio 2016.
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Melissa Jefferson, women's 100m
Perhaps no athlete caused more of a surprise at the US trials than Melissa Jefferson. The unfancied college student ran the race of her life to win the 100m final, finishing ahead of pre-race favourite Aleia Hobbs in a wind-assisted 10.69.
Just weeks earlier, Jefferson finished eighth in the NCAA 100m final but saved her best for when it mattered most to book her place on the US team for Oregon.
“Me seeing that 10.69 on the scoreboard was a very surreal moment for me and it gave me a little more confidence,” she said after her US trials race. “I won’t say that I doubt myself a lot but I don’t fully grasp what I can accomplish.”
Now she has the chance to pit her wits against the best in the world as she takes her place on the starting line at the World Athletics Championships.
Talitha Diggs, women's 400m
She may still be a teenager but USA Track and Field Championships 400m winner Talitha Diggs has been on scintillating form this season.
The reigning NCAA champion over the 400m distance will be the hope of her nation when she lines up at Hayward Field, having set a time of 50.22 seconds to win the national trials.
In early June, she set her own personal best in the NCAA final, dipping under 50 seconds with an impressive 49.99, the fifth-fastest time in the championship’s history. It leaves her fifth in the world this year, exactly half a second slower than Marileidy Paulino of Dominican Republic.
Comparisons will be made between Diggs and Olympic 800m champion Athing Mu, who set the fastest ever collegiate time with 49.71 in 2016. However, with Mu opting to only take part in the 800m, Diggs will have the chance to stake her claim for a medal and the position of number one 400m runner in her country at this year’s Worlds.