The stakes continue to rise for Tate Taylor, and the track and field phenom continues to deliver.
Taylor is an 18-year-old from San Antonio Harlan School in Texas who is less than a month removed from his high school graduation. But he stole the show at the 2026 Prefontaine Classic July 4 at Hayward Field, winning the men's 200-meter dash in a personal-best 19.75 seconds.
The performance shattered Taylor's own U.S. high school record, is the 29th-fastest overall time in world history and was fast enough to beat the reigning Olympic champion, Botswana's Letsile Tebogo, who finished second in 19.93.
Taylor also moved up to third on the world U20 all-time list, surpassing Usain Bolt.
"I didn't even know I passed Bolt's record, so that's pretty cool," Taylor said with a smile. "God is good; all glory to God. To beat the Olympic champ — I was literally telling my coach before this, 'They cannot possibly come out here and expect me to win.' I said it just like that. ... It means a lot. I look up to Tebogo, for real. I'm excited to see how the rest of his career and season pan out.
Taylor is an 18-year-old from San Antonio Harlan School in Texas who is less than a month removed from his high school graduation. But he stole the show at the 2026 Prefontaine Classic July 4 at Hayward Field, winning the men's 200-meter dash in a personal-best 19.75 seconds.
The performance shattered Taylor's own U.S. high school record, is the 29th-fastest overall time in world history and was fast enough to beat the reigning Olympic champion, Botswana's Letsile Tebogo, who finished second in 19.93.
Taylor also moved up to third on the world U20 all-time list, surpassing Usain Bolt.
"I didn't even know I passed Bolt's record, so that's pretty cool," Taylor said with a smile. "God is good; all glory to God. To beat the Olympic champ — I was literally telling my coach before this, 'They cannot possibly come out here and expect me to win.' I said it just like that. ... It means a lot. I look up to Tebogo, for real. I'm excited to see how the rest of his career and season pan out.
2 months ago
