Usain Bolt is fast. So is Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Taylor Gabriel. But is Gabriel faster than Bolt? The wideout seems to think so.
Bolt, now 30, owns the world record for the fastest 100-meter dash at 9.58 seconds and fastest 200-meter dash at 19.19 seconds. He also owns the Olympic record for both at 9.63 and 19.30, respectively.
Here’s a list of world and Olympic records held by the 26-year-old Gabriel:
There is no list, but for some reason, Gabriel thinks he could win a 30-yard race against Bolt.
“If we race 30 yards, I got Usain Bolt” @AtlantaFalcons WR Taylor Gabriel (@TGdadon1) talks speed & more #GMFB https://t.co/8IL5swMxPB
— Good Morning Football (@gmfb) March 8, 2017
“I can get him in the 40, I might be able to get him in the 40,” Gabriel said at 4:10. “But in the 30, I got him”
That’s a bold statement and one heck of a hot take.
Gabriel, or as he likes to refer to himself as “Turbo”, was not invited to the NFL combine while in college, but claimed to run a 4.27 at his pro day at Abilene Christian in the video above (2:40). He also said he thinks he could’ve run a 4.25, and that maybe he could’ve run a 4.21 if he had to (whatever exactly that means).
Let’s do a little bit of math here. 100 meters is roughly 109.361 yards, meaning that 27.43 meters is 30 yards.
That means the first 30 yards make up around 27% of a 100-meter dash. If Bolt ran a consistent speed over his world record 9.58 100-meter dash, that means the first 27% of his dash, or the first 30 yards, he ran in about 2.58 seconds. The first 40 yards? 3.50 seconds. That’s a lot faster than Gabriel claims he ran his 4.27.
Granted, Bolt starts slow and gets faster as he runs, so a 2.58 30-yard dash or 3.50 40-yard dash isn’t realistic. Instead, we’ll give Bolt a .7 second buffer. In doing that, he would have a 3.28 30-yard dash and 4.20 40-yard dash, both faster than Gabriel could probably done.
Class is over, Gabriel. You couldn’t beat Bolt in a race.
[Good Morning Football on Twitter]
Wow, you are ignorant in your reasoning. When an athlete runs, he is starting from a stop. You can’t assume Bolt ran a consistent speed over the entire 100m. The first 20 to 30 meters are considerably slower. He has to go from 0 mph to 27 mph. This takes several seconds to get to the top speed. The athletes run their top speed from the 50 to 90 meter marks. When Bolt set the world record at 9.69, it took him 4.65 seconds to run the first 40 meters and 3.78 to run the first 30 meters. This would have put him right around 4.35 for the first 40 yards. Many athletes have beaten Bolt in the first 30 yards. It’s possible Gabriel would be able to do it, too. By the way, it’s a fact, not a claim, that Gabriel ran a 4.27 at the ACU Pro Day.