What happened to the 21-year-old sprinter who Usain Bolt said was 'the next big thing' ahead of the 2024 Olympics
Eight-time Olympic gold medallist Usain Bolt backed a then-20-year-old sprinter to take the sport by storm ahead of the Paris Olympic Games – but how has he fared since?
Bolt, 38, is the fastest man of all time and boasts both the 100 and 200m world records with times of 9.58 and 19.19 seconds, both of which he set during the 2009 IAAF World Athletics Championships in Berlin, Germany.
No man has officially run as fast as Bolt, with the current Olympic 100m champion Noah Lyles clocking a time of 9.79 seconds in the showpiece in Paris last summer.
Bolt’s countryman Kishane Thompson missed out on gold by 0.005s and had to settle for silver.
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However, it was an American whom the 38-year-old praised ahead of the 2024 Olympics.
21-year-old Erriyon Knighton, who specialises in the 200m distance, was tipped to be a future star by Bolt when he spoke on the Obi One Podcast.
Bolt said: "I don't see it [any current sprinter beating my world record].
"At times, you can see talent where you go, 'Oh, if he develops, he's going to'. I just don't see it.
"There is one kid who had my attention for a while. His name is Knighton, from the States. He ran 19.40-something.
"He's only just turning 20. So he was pretty good.
"But it's all about developing the talent. You have to find a good coach, someone to nurture and understand how to nurture the talent and help to build that talent.
"When I saw him, I thought, 'This kid really impressed me’.”
Ahead of the games, Knighton told Olympics.com: "Anybody's going to want to beat the record of the all-time great, but at the same time, I still have to knock each down one by one.
"It's not going to be an easy task; it's going to be hard. I definitely think I can do it, but it's just I have got to work hard and to really have a lot of self-confidence."
However, Knighton missed out on a medal, finishing fourth in the 200m final with a time of 19.99 seconds.
The American will be hoping to secure gold at the IAAF World Athletics Championships which are set to take place in Tokyo, Japan in September 2025.
Topics: Usain Bolt, Athletics, Olympics, Noah Lyles
Luke Davies