Justyn Knight (born 19 July 1996) is a Canadianlong-distance track runner.[2] A successful collegiate runner during his time at Syracuse University, he was the school's most-decorated distance runner in cross country and track.[3] On the professional scene, he has represented his country at the World and Olympic level, with his highest finish to date being seventh at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
Running career
Youth
Knight was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario to parents of Afro-Caribbean descent. His mother, Jennifer Knight, was born and raised in Jamaica and moved to Canada at the age of 13.[4][5] His father, Anthony Knight, born in Canada to parents from Barbados, was a basketball coach. He also has an older brother, Jaryd Knight, who plays volleyball.[6][4]
Knight took up distance running when he was a high school student in Toronto, starting in Grade 10.[7][8] He attended St. Michael's College School. Knight won the 2013 Ontario provincial senior cross country title at OFSAA cross country.
Collegiate
Knight was recruited by Syracuse in 2014.[9] Knight placed 143rd overall at the 2014 NCAA DI Cross Country Championships, which he would later describe as motivation for improvement, stating "I remember races I've lost in great detail. I try to understand why I lost and how I can do better."[3]
On October 27, 2017, Knight won the individual ACC championship, and Syracuse won the ACC team title for the fifth straight year.[10]
Knight headed into his final NCAA outdoor campaign representing Syracuse with three NCAA titles, two individual, from the cross country and indoor track season, and one team from leading the Orange to the 2015 NCAA Cross Country Championship.[11][12] At the 2018 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships, Knight finished in second place in the 3000 meters final round and won the 5000 meters final to earn his first NCAA Division I track title.[3]
Professional
Knight had made his World Championship debut at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics in London while still a student at Syracuse. He made the event final and placed ninth overall in the 5000 m.[3] He had said he was "happy but not satisfied" with this finish, and in the future would need to expect more from himself.[13]
Upon graduation to the professional ranks, Knight signed a sponsorship deal with Reebok's Boston Track Club.[3] He won a bronze medal in the 5000 m at 2018 NACAC Championships, but by 2019 was struggling with the transition to the professional scene, as it required him to spend more time away from friends and family. This led to a decline in his physical fitness, and upon arriving to compete at the 2019 New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Boston, he was twenty pounds overweight. His time in the men's mile was 4:03.34, his worst-ever result at that distance in a competitive race, which he deemed "a huge turning point" as he resolved never to have such a poor result again. He retained his competition bib with notes on his time and placement as motivation.[14]
Having missed the Olympic standard for the 2016 Summer Olympics by 1.36 seconds in 2016, Knight entered 2020 focused on securing a place at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.[14][16] He won the gold medal at the Millrose Games in February in the 3000 m distance.[17] The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the Games being delayed by a full year, and made training for elite athletics more challenging, as he had to work without teammates from March to October 2020 and could not see his family.[14]
In 2021, Knight returned to competition at the 2021 Diamond League's Golden Gala in Florence, Italy. He finished with a time of 12:51.93, shaving almost twenty seconds off his prior best and running below thirteen minutes in the 5000 m distance for the first time. This was the second-fastest time ever recorded for a North American, behind only compatriot Mohammed Ahmed.[14][16] Knight was named to the Canadian Olympic team and finished seventh in the 5000 m event. His time of 13:04.38 was an improvement of more than 22 seconds on his prior World Championships appearance. Ahmed won the silver medal on the same day.[16]
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