Erriyon Knighton is a sprinter hailing from the United States’ Florida state who excels in the men’s 200-meter discipline. At just the age of 19, he is one of the biggest superstars in this discipline. He is the present holder of the World U-18 and World U-20 with timings of 19.84 seconds and 19.69 seconds, respectively. Knighton also won the bronze medal at the World Athletics Championships 2022 in Eugene, Oregon, with a timing of 19.80 seconds.
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Erriyon Knighton began his track and field journey in 2019 as a freshman at Hillsborough High School in Tampa, Florida. During his tenure there, he achieved the second fastest 200-meter time for an under-18 athlete in global history, recording a remarkable 20.33 seconds at the 2020 USA Track & Field Junior Olympics in Satellite Beach, Florida. In addition to his track accomplishments, Knighton played as a wide receiver on Hillsborough’s football team. He was offered scholarships from prestigious schools such as Alabama, Auburn, Florida State, and Florida. At just 16 years old, Knighton entered into a sponsorship agreement with Adidas during his junior year of high school. He thus gave up on his final two years of amateur competition at Hillsborough High.
On May 31, 2021, the 17-year-old Erriyon Knighton established a new world under-18 record in the boys’ 200 meters, completing the race in 20.11 seconds. This achievement surpassed Usain Bolt‘s previous record by 0.02 seconds. At the US Olympic Trials preceding the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Knighton bettered his personal best to 20.04 seconds in the first round on June 25, and once more to 19.88 seconds in the semi-finals the next day. In doing so, he shattered Bolt’s world U20 record by 0.05 seconds.
Knighton further improved his own record to 19.84 seconds in the final on June 27, securing his spot in the postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympics. At the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Knighton became the youngest male athlete representing the United States in the track and field in the Olympics since Jim Ryun’s participation in 1964. On August 3, 2021, he won his 200-meter Olympic semi-final heat and advanced to the final. In the men’s 200m final, Knighton placed fourth with a timing of 19.93 seconds, thus unfortunately missing out on an Olympic medal.
| Event | Total | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| World Championships | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Erriyon Knighton was born on January 29, 2004 in Tampa, Florida, in the United States. He was initially interested in football as he played as a wide receiver at Tampa Hillsborough High School but later switched to track events due to the Covid-19 pandemic. His father is a former basketball player.
| Event | Best Result | Discipline | Timing | Medal/ Place |
| World Championships | Eugene, Oregon 2022 | 200 m | 19.80 s | Bronze |
| Olympic Games | Tokyo Olympics 2020 | 200 m | 19.93 s | Fourth |
Erriyon Knighton in a file photo (Image Credits - Twitter/ @ErriyonK)
Erriyon Knighton after winning the bronze medal at the World Athletics Championships 2022 (Image Credits - Twitter/ @ErriyonK)
Erriyon Knighton and Noah Lyles (Image Credits - Twitter)
Erriyon Knighton in action (Image Credits - Twitter/ USATF)
