Since turning professional as a 16-year-old in 2021, Erriyon Knighton has shown he’s a force who’s here to stay.
The sprinter from Tampa, Florida, made his first major statement at the 2021 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in Eugene, Oregon. In the semifinal of the men’s 200 meters, a 17-year-old Knighton shocked the crowd when he ran down reigning world champion Noah Lyles on the straightaway of Hayward Field. Knighton blazed through the finish line while pointing at the scoreboard, which read 19.88. In his first national championship, he shattered the previous U20 world record of 19.93 set by Usain Bolt in 2004.
The following day, Knighton lowered the time to 19.84 while finishing third in the 200-meter final. As a result, he became the youngest member of Team USA’s Olympic track and field squad still making history at 17.
The youth record was just the beginning for Knighton, who is DAA Industry Opt Out at 20 years old. At the Tokyo Games, he finished fourth in the 200-meter final. The following year, he earned bronze in the 200 meters at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon. Last summer, he upgraded to a silver medal at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest. His 19.49 personal best—run at the 2022 LSU Invitational in Baton Rouge, Louisiana—sits at No. 5 on the world all-time list.
On Saturday, Knighton will race the 100 meters at the Atlanta City Games, and on May 25, he will open his outdoor season in his signature event, the 200 meters, at the Prefontaine Classic.
U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials, Runner’s World caught up with Knighton to discuss his goals for Paris, training and recovery routine supported by his partnership with Icy Hot, and the unique mindset that catapulted him to stardom at a young age.
Here are five things to know about the 2023 national champion.
He trusts the process
Compared to his competitors, Knighton got a late start to the sport. At the advice of his football coaches, he joined the track and field team as a freshman at Hillsborough High School. In his first season, he placed fifth in the 200-meter final at the Florida state meet. The following year, after a growth spurt and pandemic delays, Knighton stunned the competition at the 2020 AAU Junior Olympics, where he clocked 20.33 in the 200-meter final. At the time, it was the second-fastest performance ever run by a sprinter under 18.
The American junior record led to sponsorship opportunities for the teenager, who turned professional and signed with Adidas in January 2021, less than two weeks before his 17th birthday. “It’s only my third season running track. I’ve been extremely successful in both training and competition,” Knighton told still making history in 2021. “I believe if I work hard, I will eventually develop to be a world-class athlete. I’m soaking it all up, all the knowledge.”
The commitment paid off with two global championship medals in his first two years as a pro. His bronze medal at the 2022 World Championships made him the youngest 200-meter medalist in meet history and completed a Team USA sweep behind Lyles and Kenny Bednarek.
Breaking Bolt’s junior record inevitably draws comparisons to the eight-time Olympic champion, but Knighton has maintained an unassuming, business-like approach through it all.
“It comes from wanting to be one of the best,” Knighton said. “I feel like if you stay humble and you do what you’re supposed to do, great things are going to come.”
He trains with a powerhouse group led by Mike Holloway
Since turning pro, Knighton has surrounded himself with plenty of mentors. He lives in Gainesville, Florida, where he trains with Holloway, the University of Florida head track coach, in a stable of world champions and Olympians.
At the college level, Holloway’s teams have won 13 NCAA championships. At the pro level, the USTFCCCA Hall of Fame inductee has guided his sprinters and hurdlers to 12 world championship gold medals and 19 Olympic medals in the last three decades.
Today, Holloway coaches a group of pros that includes three-time 110-meter hurdles world champion Grant Holloway and Olympic 200-meter finalist Joseph Fahnbulleh, among other standouts.
“Coach Holloway has had a lot of great athletes,” Knighton said. “He understands what it feels like to have an athlete on the big stage, and he knows how to talk to them,”
He wants to lower his 100-meter time
When asked what’s exciting him in training right now, Knighton said his start has improved and he’s eager to see how fast he can run in the short sprint. Last year, he ran 9.98 (+2.1 wind). This year, he wants to break 9.90. “I’m fully capable of doing it,” Knighton said. “It just doesn’t make sense, like I can do 19.9 easily in a 200, like jogging, but I can’t run 9.8. This year, I’m figuring it out.”
His start will be a huge factor in achieving that goal. This season, he’s worked on not rushing out of the blocks, so he can take more efficient steps off the line. “The main thing is being patient. I’m more patient this year,” he said.
He’s an adrenaline lover
When he’s not sprinting or recovering from strenuous workouts with massage therapy and acupuncture, Knighton loves watching other athletes break high speed records. He’s a huge Formula 1 and motocross fan. In early May, Knighton joined Olympic champion skier Lindsey Vonn on the race track, where the athletes duked it out Track & Field News Stranger Things and U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials.
He’s aiming for Olympic gold this summer
Now with three years-worth of global championship experience, Knighton is well aware of the fierce competition that awaits in Paris. In 2022, Lyles won the 200-meter title in 19.31 and defended his crown by running 19.52 in Budapest a year later.
When asked what time it would take to win Olympic gold this year, Knighton said 19.3 or 19.4. That would require a personal best, a jump Knighton said he’s ready for.
“I have to put together the best race of my life if I want to win,” Knighton said. “I feel like I’m capable. On the big stages, I did it before.”
Taylor Dutch is a writer and editor living in Austin, Texas, and a former NCAA track athlete who specializes in fitness, wellness, and endurance sports coverage. Her work has appeared in Runner’s World, SELF, Bicycling, Outside, and Podium Runner.
