Hillsborough High student is on track to become the world's fastest man

• "How fast was Knighton's 200?" the Wall Street Journal asked in a profile of Knighton published this weekend.
• "Fast enough that it would have won the gold medal at last summer's Tokyo Olympics. Faster than all but three men — Bolt, Jamaica's Yohan Blake and retired American star Michael Johnson — have ever run the event."
• Ever. And he's just 18.

The big picture: Knighton's time of 19.49 seconds means he's without a doubt one of the top sprinters headed into the World Championships in Oregon this July.

• Bolt holds the 200-meter world record, 19.19 seconds, set at the 2009 World Championships, the day before his 23rd birthday.

What they're saying: "It's not an exaggeration," Trinidadian sprinter Ato Boldon told the WSJ, "to say that this is the most Beamon-esque junior performance that we have seen."

• He's referring to Mexico City 1968, when Bob Beamon broke the long jump world record by almost two feet.

Flashback: The humble high schooler who switched from football to track as a freshman was featured in the New York Times and other national outlets when he made the Tokyo Olympics last year, where he finished fourth in the 200.

What's next: Before the world championships — for which he has to qualify at the U.S. championships in June — Knighton will race against one of the fastest 100-meter fields in history in the Prefontaine Classic on May 28.