(CMR) Erriyon Knighton, a 17-year-old sprinter who turned professional in January, broke Usain Bolt‘s U18 200m record at a track meet in Florida Monday night.
Knighton clocked 20.11 seconds, beating Bolt’s record of 20.13 from 2003. Knighton turned 17 in January, just after he turned pro while a junior at Tampa Hillsborough High School. According to OlympicTalk, athletes can register U18 records through the calendar year that they turn 17.
Knighton beat a field that included Olympic 100m favorite Trayvon Bromell(second in 20.20), Brit Zharnel Hughes (who seven years ago broke Jamaican High School sprint records), and Brit Adam Gemili (fourth at the 2016 Olympics and 2019 Worlds).
He is qualified to race at the US Olympic Trials that start in two weeks. He is younger than any US Olympic male track and field athlete since miler Jim Ryun in 1964.
Knighton now ranks 13th among Americans in the 200m since the start of 2019 and seventh this year.
Bolt still owns the fastest 200m for a 17-year-old, clocking 19.93 in April 2004, four months before turning 18.
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