Pretenders to the throne

Usian Bolt’s world records in the 100m and 200m will soon be a thing of the past.  Bolt’s 9.58 seconds in the 100m and 19.19 sec. in the 200m has stood for 15 years but will soon be shattered by rising sprint stars, triple world champion Americans Noah Lyles and Erriyon Knighton and Botswana’s Letsile Tebego.  Lyles, a two-time 200m champion, thinks Tebego has a lot of potential and will be a force to reckon with. Letsile is 20 years old and has a ot of time to eclipse Bolt’s record.  He recently broke the 300m world record when he clocked 30.69 sec. in the Curro Podium Final in Pretoria, South Africa.  He also clocked a personal best time of 44.29 sec. in the 400m in the ASA Athletes  Grand Prix 2.  In Johannesburg, he won the 200m in 1994 and is on track to wipe out the African record of 9.77   Ferdinand Omanyala set in 2021 Rip Keino Classic to obliterate Akami Simbines time of 9.84 sec. Tebogo’s lifetime best in the 100m is 9.88 sec. A time he set in the Budapest World Championship last year.  Tebogo won a silver in the 100m and a bronze in  the 200m in the 2023 World Championship.  In the 2021 World Athletics under 20, he won a gold in the 100m and a silver in the 200.

Erriyon Knighton

Another youngster (20 years old) capable of breaking Bolt’s records became the youngest member of the USA Olympic Track and Field Team at 17 years old.  While in the Tokyo Olympics, he became the youngest men’s track finalist, placing fourth. Knighton became the fourth fastest 200m runner with a 19:49 clocking.  On the other hand, the 26-year old Lyles won the bronze in the 200m in Tokyo.  He is a 6-time world champion having won the 200m and 4x100m in the 2019 World Championship, 200m at the 2022 World Championship and the 100m, 200m and 4x100m at the 2023 Budapest World Championship.  His personal best in the 100m is 9.83 sec. while clocking 19.31 in the  200m. Now folks who’s gonna break Usian Bolt’s records?