Sprinter Who Beat Usain Bolt Record at 17 Now Banned for Four Years

An American sprinter who broke Usain Bolt's long-standing world record has been handed a four-year ban, putting his Olympic future in serious doubt.

Bolt is widely recognised as one of the greatest sprinters of all time, with eight Olympic golds and 11 World Championship titles to his name.

The Jamaican also set multiple world records during his glittering career, and his 100m and 200m marks from 2009 still stand as the fastest times ever recorded.

Athletics fans have often wondered whether a new sprinter could emerge to challenge those records, but so far, none have managed it.

One American athlete once seen as a contender was Erriyon Knighton.

In 2021, Knighton broke Bolt's under-18 200 metre world record, which had stood for 18 years.

Erriyon Knighton (Image: Getty)

He clocked 20.11 seconds over the distance, beating a field that included world championship medallist Trayvon Bromell and British duo Zharnel Hughes and Adam Gemili.

A year later, Knighton made a huge improvement on his time, running 19.49 seconds for 200m - the 12th fastest time in history.

He went on to claim his first senior world championship medal in Oregon that same year, clocking 19.80 seconds to take bronze behind fellow American Noah Lyles, who won in 19.31 seconds.

Knighton improved again in 2023, winning silver at the World Championships in Budapest with a time of 19.75 seconds, although he was unable to beat Lyles.

However, in March 2024, Knighton tested positive for a metabolite of the banned substance trenbolone.

He initially avoided a ban after he argued that that the findings were due to meat contamination.

Erriyon Knighton at the Olympics in 2024 (Image: Getty)

That ruling allowed to compete at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, where he narrowly missed out on a medal, finishing fourth in the 200m.

But in September 2025, the Court of Arbitration for Sport partially upheld appeals from World Athletics and the World Anti-Doping Agency, and he was given a four-year ban.

WADA argued the evidence that had been used to clear Knighton was statistically impossible and pushed for a four-year ban.

Cas said: "The Cas panel determined that there is no proof that would support the conclusion that oxtail imported into the USA would be likely to contain trenbolone residues at the level required to have caused the athlete's adverse analytical finding.

"World Athletics and WADA considered that the evidence submitted by the athlete and his explanations of a meat contamination scenario fell short of the required proof of source and were statistically impossible."

Knighton's ban is set to run until July 2029, ruling him out of the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

If he chooses to return to the sport, his next major event could be the World Championships in 2029.

Although the host city is yet to be confirmed, London are among those in contention.