'Going to be a monster': 17-year-old USA phenom Erriyon Knighton draws Usain Bolt comparisons
TOKYO — Erriyon Knighton looked glum.
At 17-year-old sprinter, he is the youngest U.S. male track athlete in the Olympics since 1964. He qualified for the 200 meters final here, and on Wednesday night he competed in that race against men much older and more developed.
He crossed the finish line in 19. seconds and without his arms held high in celebration.
He finished fourth.
The plan was to medal.
And with that glum look, Knighton said he never wanted to feel this way again.
“So we’re just going to come back again,’’ he said.
Back to the Olympics. Back into the finals. Back with tantalizing potential.
Count on it.
In the 200 field, Knighton was the only sprinter drawing comparisons to Usain Bolt, the Jamaican sprint legend who won eight Olympic gold medals before he retired in 2017. In May, Knighton broke Bolt’s under-18 record in the 200 meters and in June he broke Bolt’s under-20 record for the 200 meters.
Can he be an icon like Bolt, a reporter asked Wednesday night.
“I don’t know,’’ Knighton said. “Only time will tell.’’
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Just three years ago, Knighton was playing wide receiver before he was lured to the track. Soon he traded his football cleats for track shoes. Speaking of track shoes, he showed up for a post-race interview session wearing Jackie Joyner-Kersee custom spikes.
And what did the great long jumper and heptathlete mean to him?
“She racked up a lot of medals,’’ Knighton said, underscoring what he expected of himself here and expects at Olympics to come. “That was the goal, from the start, to make the podium. Always, from the beginning of the year.’’
Yet he’s been running track for only three years after being lured away from the football team at Hillsborough High School in Tampa, Florida. He’ll be entering his senior year this fall.
“He’s going to be dangerous in the future,’’ said Kenny Bednarek, the fellow American sprinter who won the silver medal. “Seventeen years old, to be able to run this fast, he’s raw, he’s got a lot of talent and a lot of things to work on. And he’s definitely going to be a monster in the future.’’
The praise didn't lift Knighton’s mood, even though 17-year-old sprinters are supposed to be watching the Olympics rather than competing in them.
“I’m very proud of him,’’ Noah Lyles, the fellow American sprinter, said after winning the bronze medal in the 200 final. “I tell him that all the time, and he’s coming out here and he’s coming to win. … If he keeps pushing, I believe he’s right down the road to do even more amazing things.’’
Despite his disappointment about failing to medal, Knighton said of the Olympics, “It’s been a fun experience. I’m still going to be here for a couple of days.’’
But it sounded like track practice would resume soon. What did he want to concentrate on?
Everything, he said.
He also said he’ll eventually be looking for colleges, but this fall he’ll return to Hillsborough High School – as the fastest high school senior on the planet.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Erriyon Knighton misses Olympic medal but is 'going to be a monster'
