US Olympic Trials 2021: Is Erriyon Knighton the next Usain Bolt?
17-year-old American sprinter Erriyon Knighton, who only weeks ago broke Usain Bolt’s U18 record, chased down another record today of the eight-time Olympic champion.
In the men’s 200m semifinals of the US Olympic trials, Erriyon ran 19.88s to break Usain Bolt‘s U20 world record of 19.93s. This was the last standing world junior record for the legendary Olympic medallist.
As the final of the men’s 200m event is about to get underway in a few hours from now at the US Olympic trials in Eugene, there might be more than one reason to watch this event closely. Not only will the event determine who makes the US team at the upcoming Tokyo Olympics 2020, but it might also pose a threat to the current world champion Noah Lyles’ no.1 spot.
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American sprint sensation Erriyon Knighton started the US Olympic trials by winning the heats after clocking the fastest time of 20.04s in the men’s 200m event. In the process, he not only bettered his own World U18 record but also moved closer to chasing down Bolt’s only other remaining World U20 record. The record, which until this morning stood at 19.93s set by the then 17-year-old Usain Bolt in 2004, was successfully broken again by the American teenager.
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Erriyon vs Lyles
Erriyon, who turned professional in January earlier this year, still has two full years to go as a junior. Apart from shattering the world junior records, Erriyon also beat world champion and Olympic favorite Noah Lyles twice in a row, who finished second in the heats with a timing of 20.19s. The world champion finished ahead of Fred Kerley’s 20.41s, and then clocked 19.91s in the semi-finals. Fred booked a spot in the men’s 100m earlier in the trials, clocking 9.86s.
In Erriyon’s current form, there’s a good chance that the teen sensation might make an Olympic debut in Tokyo itself. The top three athletes in each event are in line to make up the Olympic team. While most events have already closed the entries, the 200m race is the final high-profile event yet to announce their team.
The favorites before the trials had already separated themselves — Noah Lyles, Kenny Bednarek and Terrance Laird. The qualification of world’s three fastest men since 2020 who’ve run 19.81s or faster, now seem to be in a quandary after the recent exploits of the 17-year-old breakthrough performer.
However, the big question that remains is - will Erriyon be able to pull another upset and beat Noah Lyles in the finals to enter Tokyo as a favorite next month?
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