Knighton was outstanding in his first major competition in Tokyo, where he just missed the Olympic podium and became the youngest teen since Jim Ryun in 1964 to represent the United States. "I think I signed an autograph actually, it got that chaotic. Maybe it was a good thing. One of our greatest Terrier traditions continues! "He was warning up at 140. 2023 www.floridatoday.com. This summer, another stage beckons, a home World Championships in Oregon. He has done relatively little weight lifting yet to fill out his 164-pound frame. Erriyon Knighton does not currently have a partner. At the Tokyo Games, Knighton, at 17, was the youngest American track Olympian since the renowned miler Jim Ryun in 1964. Bromell, the years fastest at 9.88 in the 100m, finished second in 20.20, his best since 2015. He hits halfway at a gallop. At 18, Knighton has not yet peeked closely under the hood of his internal engine as he has under the hood of the $80,000 Dodge Hellcat he would like to buy. Instead, as school gridiron grew cold amid an enforced shutdown, a 16-year-old Knighton focused on his side hustle: track. After crushing Usain Bolts under-18 and under-20 200m records at this weekends Track & Field Olympic Team Trials, 17 year old Erriyon Knighton etched his name into athletics history to become the youngest American male to make be a part of the Olympic team since Jim Ryun in 1964. Hes learning how to run, how to use his mechanics, how to maximize every inch, Terry said. A Friday Night Lights scene. If you just go out and run like I know you can run, youll beat them. And he did, and he beat them. According to NBC, he became the youngest male track athlete to reach the final of an individual Olympic race in 125 years. As a television camera reached him, he crouched on the track and smiled, but it was a smile of contemplating what might have been. At Tuesday's 200-meter semifinal, Knighton came in at 20.02 seconds. The UnitedMasters exec is building a system that puts the power back into the hands of the creators.. If you want to get better, you haveto enjoy the training part too, as much as you like running, he said. Celebrating the release of Space Jam: A New Legacy.. He and another football teammate and friend of Sipps son, Joe Jr., moved in with the Sipp family, staying with them for seven months. At the time when the Jamaican sprinter set the record, he was 16-years-old. It was August, and sweltering. Despite his sudden rise on the track, Knighton was approached by an array of first division schools to play football, but with a number of wins already under his belt and a growing athletics portfolio, Knighton stuck to the track to mark the start of whats expected to be an exciting career. He was a really nice fellow, would talk about how he ran in the morning before he got to work, then would do his heavy work in the evenings.. TAMPA, Fla. For Erriyon Knighton, the record-breaking speed isnt as incredible as his acceleration to the track worlds elite. He looks up, spots a hole in the onrushing defence and darts through, evading Knighton made the decision in January to turn professional and sign at 16 with adidas, giving him a six-figure sponsorship deal that ended his high school track career and helped him focus on much larger goals. Saturday morning he was back at the Satellite High complex, tossing a 6-pound shot 17.26 meters (56-07.50 feet) to set a national age-group record. At just 18 years old, the under 20 world record holder is hungry for more, starting with the Lausanne Diamond League Support our work by subscribing to FLORIDA TODAY. But Knighton shaved more than three-tenths of a second from his previous best of 19.84. He was straying off a well-worn path to the top. It is just the start of a four-minute highlights reel,external-link posted in June 2020. As a teenager representing his country on the largest platform in sports, Knighton has a chance to be a national star, one of the biggest stories of the Olympics. Knighton continues to show up toschool. In other news, Police suspect the woman who caused Tour de France crash has fled to Germany. "I'm getting there," said Jackson, who a year ago waited until his final throw to clinch the national shot put title with a personal-best throw of45-2.25. Knighton noticed that the workouts for track were much harder than football. Hes got goals outside of running. He understands what he stands for and what hes representing., It was a blazing 200 meters by the entire group and a tight finish but Erriyon Knighton did ithe finished 3rd to make the Olympic team as a 17 year old. On Sunday night in Oregon, he earned a spot in next months Olympics in Tokyo in the 200 meters, and at 17 years old, the rising senior at Hillsborough High School in Tampa became the youngest male U.S. Olympic track athlete in 57 years, since Jim Ryun in the 1964 games, also in Tokyo. A two-minute highlight reel shows not only his quickness but a shiftiness and ability to weave through defenders, scoring 15 touchdowns in his two seasons of varsity ball. He was just a fraction of a second off Usain Bolts world record in the 200. So Knightons camp is trying to make him faster by, in effect, slowing him down. While at Hillsborough, Sipp has watched and coached several athletes who eventually became professional, or who were given full track scholarships. From then on, Knighton was destined to be wearing spikes, rather than shoulder pads. Holloway, the reigning world champion in the 110m hurdles who is among the hot favorites in Tokyo, clocked 13.10 seconds ahead of Olympian Devon Allen (13.22) and fellow American Daniel Roberts (13.23) as they tuned up for next months US trials. This week, his son's performancessoothed his soul. Damian Warner Wife/Girlfriend Jennifer Cotten Are They Married? Since turning professional in January 2021 shortly after his 17th birthday Knighton has clocked a plethora of wins, tournaments and trophies, which has seen his net worth rise to around $200,000 USD. Hes not afraid to compete, and thats a big part of being successful in any athletic endeavor.. He has run only four races this season. 20.33 seconds is a short amount of time to change somebodys life. 2021 U.S Olympic Team Trials, 3rd (200-meter) 2020 Track & Field Junior Olympics, 1st (200-meter) A crowd of about 100 spectators in the bleachers. Zango produced one of the first stand-out performances of 2021. In addition to Terry, Knighton has had a few training sessions with University of Florida track coach Mike Mouse Holloway, who has worked directly with Team USA and has coached nine medal-winning athletes and at least one competitor in every Olympics since 1992. It wasnt hurting me, I just kept running.. People often ask whether he wants to be the next Usain Bolt. "Well for some, maybe. He saw it as training to bea quicker receiver, to be able sprint faster than the defense and to take off as soon as the football touched his hands. According to her, he was always running, even as a toddler. I thought if I got a little more training, I could be one of them.. Knighton, 17, breaks Bolts junior record in 200m at Florida meet, Tampa natives time of 20.11 shaves 0.02sec off Bolts 2003 mark, American Grant Holloway dominates quality 110m hurdles field. "Both got me the same results so far, so I don't know. Hes fearless, and that factors into how hard he trains. The first of the horror-thriller trilogy hits the streamer on July 2. He did get to see the 2012 Games in London. "In other schools in the area, people say to my class-mates 'you go to school with Erriyon', but for people in my school they see me every day, so it ain't nothing.". At school, hes decked in everything Adidas. He not only won the 200 meters, but did so in 20.33 seconds, breaking the national under-18 record that had been in place since 2001, nearly three years before he was born. As you watch the footage,external-link you can hear one voice from the stands swear in disbelief as the stagger unfurls and the extent of Knighton's yawning advantage is revealed. Asked whether a college football career could be in the cards, the teenage sprinter said: "Nah," the Associated Press reported in late June. His training is low volume. Holloway, the head Olympic track coach, spoke to Knighton after the race. Your email address will not be published. If he can repeat his 19.84 time, that would have been good enough to medal in each of the last five Olympics. The comparison is an honor, Knighton said, but, no, he doesnt want to be the next Bolt. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/23/sports/olympics/track-sprinter-knighton-bolt.html. He also won a bronze medal at that distance at the 2015 world track championships. This spring, Knighton improved his 200 personal best to 19.49 and his 100 to 10.04. His wife, Teri (Steer), participated in the 2000 Olympics inSydney, Australia. Joe Sipp remembers first seeing Knighton the summer before his freshman year at Hillsborough, when he attended a conditioning workout for football players. And while that contract has made his life more comfortable, his high school newspaper reported that his life is still pretty normal: "Switching back and forth from his parent's houses, visiting grandparents and cousins on the weekends, going bowling with his mom, and dreaming, not too unrealistically, of buying a Dodge Charger as his first car.". As a 10th grader, he was head and shoulders above everybody. But two years ago, he was afraid of the Armwood and Tech guys.. I wanted to do track all year long, he said. In 2014, Bromell, of nearby St. Petersburg, became the first junior sprinter to run the 100 in less than 10 seconds (9.97), while winning an N.C.A.A. To see all of the 2020 AAU Junior Olympics results, click here. You may have more than one ad-blocker installed. The next Olympics are only three years off, so Knighton can build on whatever hes able to do in Tokyo when hes 20 and competing for a spot in Paris in 2024, or even at age 24 when the Olympics are in Los Angeles in 2028. He trusts Coach (Terry) with his life, and thats big. He was very aggressive in blocking, had three unnecessary roughness penalties last year, Garcia said. (Kirby Lee / USA Today). Knighton's decision marks the third time in a year that a high school sprint athlete has turned pro. With comparisons to retired Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolttwo of whose 200-meter youth records were broken by Knightonthe pressure will be there for the teenage Florida native at Wednesday's final. I don't think he was too surprised at getting the record.". Even if you get mad at him, its hard to stay mad at him, because his personality is so fun-loving and he has such a big heart.. Erriyon Knightons Parents ( Father, Mother), Siblings. WebOther Career Highlights . Adding that he and his family would like to be a little more included with these things. He wants to be the best version of himself. Sipp said the sport is still so new to him that he cant appreciate just how big an opportunity he has. Anyone can read what you share. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. A link that, via a search and scroll, leads to footage of an athlete who is neither on the track, nor professional. I was a little surprised, but not really. But, as the pandemic bit, the points switched. Knighton is self-assured, diligent and fearless, unmoved by fame, his coaches said. Alabama still calls me: Coach, he can still play football and run pro track. Before he went to Eugene, he told the boys hed be back for practice Aug. 2. That goal was accomplished on that fateful weekend in August. Why would he think otherwise? He was recruited to multiple colleges for football but decided to go pro in track before his 17th birthday and signed with Adidas. Knighton finished fourth in 19.93 a stunning performance for a teenager. In an interview with Track and Field News, given back in February, Knighton remarked, I believe if I work hard, I will eventually develop to be a world-class athlete. 'Horrific': Four found dead in Canaveral Groves home, sheriff says, Four-star football recruit Erriyon Knighton of Tampa breaks national 200-meter mark, AAU Junior Olympics on Space Coast crowns its first champions, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. Two months after graduating from high school, US sprinter Erriyon Knighton stood on the podium in Oregon having become the youngest men's 200m runner ever to medal at a World Athletics Championships. He continued to play football through his junior season as a wide receiver and a safety who could squat 500 pounds and deadlift 450. Living in Tampa, with the championships from the Buccaneers and Lightning and even the Rays, the type of athlete that he is, hes embracing putting the city on his back and bringing awareness to track and field, Terry said. He finished just off the podium in Wednesday's final. He could no longer take up university scholarship offers. View this post on Instagram Erriyon Knighton, left, chose to turn professional while a junior at Tampa Hillsborough High School. "Seems like every 10 minutes he's eating. I think its safe to say his high school football career is over. They won't be the only ones getting familiar with Knighton's fame over the next few years. Theres no ifs, ands or buts about it. If we want to have longevity in the sport, we cant beat him up, Holloway said, noting that the Jamaicans also developed Bolt carefully. Who are you? Knighton, on the other hand, is just 17 years old and is far too young to be involved in a love affair. 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