"I ran a 4.22 in my sweats and some shoes" - When Usain Bolt opened up Tyreek Hill challenging him to a 40-yard dash
Usain Bolt once opened up about being challenged by NFL player Tyreek Hill to a 40-yard dash. The 40-yard dash is used to evaluate the speed and acceleration of football players.
The reason Usain Bolt's old interview resurfaced on the internet was because of Xavier Worthy's recent 40-yard dash run. The 20-year-old wide receiver from the University of Texas broke the NFL's 40-yard dash by clocking an official time of 4.21 seconds, scrapping 0.01 seconds from the previous record set back in 2017 by John Ross of the University of Washington.
Xavier's incredible run led to fans making comparisons between the upcoming NFL player and professional track and field athletes like Bolt and Christian Coleman. Usain Bolt has never officially run a 40-yard dash. However, he ran the distance at a Gatorade event back in 2019.
Speaking about the incident on The Pat McAfee Show, Usain opened up about that particular run and how NFL player Tyreek Hill challenged him.
"Me and Tyreek Hill got into it because he is a Gatorade-sponsored athlete also. So one time we got into it and he was like yo, you take me. He was talking bla bla bla but then I went to the combine one year and if you go on the net right now. I ran 4.22 in my sweats and some shoes. Come on Tyreek you got no chance," he said.
Usain Bolt's career as a football player
Usain ran his final race at the IAAF World Championships in 2017. Following the race Bolt announced that he would like to pursue football. Bolt described playing football as a 'personal goal' and stated publicly that he wished to play for Manchester United.
However, Borussia Dortmund gave Bolt a two-day contract to play a trial match in March 2018. Bolt took to the pitch in South Africa to train for the match alongside Mamelodi Sundowns in January 2018.
Following a short stint at Borussia Dortmund, Bolt joined Australian A-League side Central Coast Mariners in August 2018. Bolt played a pre-season match against Macarthur South West United and scored two goals. He was offered a contract by the Central Coast Mariners but did not accept the offer and left the club.
In January 2019, Usain Bolt announced that he would no longer be pursuing his 'football dream' and was grateful for the time he had as a football player.