MIAMI, United States. — The American lightning has done it again. Erriyon Knighton, whose personal best is 19.49 in the 200-meter dash, continues to prove—for those who still doubt—that he is the top sprinter to watch in the near future.
The young man, just 19 years old, fourth place at the Tokyo Olympics and bronze medalist at the Oregon 2022 World Athletics Championships, has set a new record, this time in the Oslo Diamond League.
The event occurred this Thursday when the North American surpassed by two tenths the mark of 19.79 achieved by Usain Bolt in the 2013 edition. Knighton stopped the clock at 19.77 and, with this feat, he continues to hunt down the records of the Jamaican car.
The prodigious runner surpassed the second classified in the League, the Cuban Reynier Mena, and the American Joseph Fahnbulleh, who was in third place, by five tenths.
In May 2022, Knighton broke the under-20 world record over 200 metres, which was also held by Usain Bolt. His personal best of 19.49, achieved a year ago, is the fourth best of all time, an extraordinary achievement for an athlete whose relationship with the tracks began in 2020.
Knighton was then an American football player, flattered by offers from almost all universities, until one day, when he was just 16 years old, his coach evaluated him in the 200 meters, clocking an impressive mark of 20.23. The coach himself suggested that he dedicate himself to athletics and the young man listened to him.
In 2021 he smashed Bolt’s record in the trials of the United States with a mark of 19.84 that earned him the qualification to the Tokyo Olympics. Since then, Erriyon Knighton has carved his way up the sprint races as a sensation.
