ERRIYON KNIGHTON ALREADY broke eight-time Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt’s Under-20 world record for the 200m back in 2022.
Now, the 20-year-old American sprinting phenom is eyeing the Paris 2024 Olympic Games as a global platform to eclipse Bolt’s 200m world record of 19.19 (to date, the closest Knighton has clocked is 19.49), and cement his name in the annals of track and field history.
“Just going in there and competing at my best ability,” Knighton says of his lofty expectations for the Summer Games. “I know that the work is already put in. You know, everybody wants to go there and get gold, so I say that’s the main goal.”
Knighton visited NYC ahead of the Games later this summer with Icy Hot to showcase his warmup, training, and recovery regimen. While there, he spoke to Men’s Health about what it’s like to work for years for an Olympic moment that spans less than half a minute.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Men’s Health: What is it like training for a record-breaking moment on an Olympic worldwide stage?
EK: I’m glad you brought it up, because the moment is not even long. The moment is only 19 seconds, so just putting in all that work just for 19 seconds… for some people it doesn’t seem like a good outcome, just cause it’s only 19 seconds. But when you run track, man, it’s like, them 19 seconds… that’s what we work for.
How do you wrap your head around it?
EK: All the work that we put in, it goes into those short, few seconds of making the time. It’s very hard, it’s nothing easy, but that’s what comes with being one of the best in the world.
What are some go-to exercises to prep for the 200m?
EK: My A-Skip, B-Skip, my high knees. Those get me ready.
My accels [controlled burst drills], I like doing those right before my race. I feel like those are probably the best things that I can do right before you run.
How do those drills affect your running?
EK: You do the high knees, your accels and then you do a couple of block starts and you’re ready to run. They’re getting the body ready, getting the body warm, getting the body activated.
What does your daily routine entail heading into the Olympics?
EK: I practice Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday. All those days consist of weight room [work] and I’m on a track every one of those days.
I go to practice around 10 [a.m.]. I’ll probably end around 12:30, 1:00. And then weight room will probably last an hour and 30 minutes. That’s if you get in there and do what you’re supposed to do. [Every day] is different movements, different body parts, getting stronger in different areas. So it’s not like full body work every time we go in the weight room.
Right before I run, I wouldn’t be in the weight room as hard [or] as much as I would on the other days. So it kind of gives me like some time to just recover.
No practice Wednesday. I have [massage] therapy Wednesday. I feel good the next day, it carries me on to Thursday and Friday. I get a whole weekend off.
Walk us through some of the key exercises that you might do in the weight room.
EK: Cleans off the blocks, I’d have some core, I’d have a bench [press] and I would have some Nordic [curls], some hamstrings strengthener.
What is the pre-event meal that you have?
EK: Most of the time I try to get pasta in my system. I try to get something light like noodles. I don’t try to eat a steak because it sits on your stomach for a couple of days, or it takes longer to digest. So I do pasta and salmon or fish like a couple of hours [before].
After I’m done running, I pretty much have whatever I want, whatever I’m in the mood for.
You made the fastest debut in the indoor 200 meter back in February. Walk us through your recovery after an event like that. Does that start immediately after?
EK: When I just get done, I try to find something immediately. That’s where Icy Hot comes into play, because it’s literally right in my bag. So I apply it and that… can hold me over until I have my massage. So after I put that on, I cool down, I go find my massage therapist, and I get a flush.
You’re from Tampa, Florida. Did the warm weather aid your running style?
EK: I feel like it really helps for me just because I train in the hot weather 24/7, every day of the week. A lot of people in other countries have to train indoors, just because it’s so cold. A lot of people don’t know how to deal with heat.
What would it mean to you to bring home the gold medal in these Olympics?
EK: It would mean everything to me, just because of the work I put in. Everybody puts in the same work and everybody wants the same goal.
