Teen freak Erriyon Knighton smashes another Usain Bolt record

A 17-year-old has broken yet another one of Usain Bolt’s amazing records as he puts the world on notice and punched his ticket to Tokyo.

There’s one name on everyone’s lips at the US Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon.

Erriyon Knighton, a 17-year-old freak, will make history as the youngest-ever runner to qualify for an America Track and Field team since 1964.

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Not only that, but he broke a mark that once belonged to none other than Usain Bolt, the man who holds the world record time for both the 100m and 200m.

Knighton made headlines earlier in June by exploding out of nowhere to win the 200m final at an American Track League meet, at the same time beating Olympic legend Bolt’s previous world record of 20.13 seconds for under-18 competitors.

Now the high school student has smashed another one of Bolt’s longstanding records in a blistering run at the Olympic Trials.

Knighton can lay claim to the under-20 world record in the 200m, with a red-hot time of 19.84 seconds. For reference, Bolt managed a best of 19.93 seconds before he turned 20.

This kid Erriyon Knighton is 17 years old and he’s just casually breaking Usain Bolt records while beating grown men on the track. A monster. pic.twitter.com/WyuNJH6ETo

— OJ (@ojenabosi) June 27, 2021

“It will probably sink in when I get home,” Knighton said of his performance. “It’s a really big achievement.”

Astonishingly, the Florida teen only made the jump to track events three years ago, and was previously a four-star football recruit.

Knighton finished third in the 200m final at Olympic trials, as Noah Lyles crossed the line first with a sizzling time of 19.74.

Lyles said a relaxed approach had helped him deliver his best performance of the trials when it mattered.

“I stopped stressing, I let my body do what it does,” he said. “I was asking for a lot in the prelims — I was just thinking ‘More, more, more’, but today I just thought, ‘Flow — let it flow, let it come’.

“I’m tired of stressing, tired of fighting — just let everything come.”

Knighton will be the youngest member of the US Track and Field team since 1964.

With AFP