Usain Bolt 40-yard dash time

[boomersooner28]

So, Bolt broke the world record in the 200 today in 19.19 seconds.

I was thinking to myself, what would he run the 40 in?

I was guessing maybe 4.15, which is unbelievable. ESPNEWS just had a guy on that was there and broke down the times per 20 yard segment. The first 40-yards Bolt ran a 3.82!!!! OMG!

Dude said that the last 40 yards, from 40 yard line on a football field, to the endzone, Bolt was at full speed, and ran it in 2.94 seconds.


INSANE!

[Collier11]

If that is true, that is absolutely crazy...I know the 1st 10-15 meters are his slowest

[Crucifax Autumn]

He's got nothing of the Florida Center!

[sooner59]

So, Bolt broke the world record in the 200 today in 19.19 seconds.

I was thinking to myself, what would he run the 40 in?

I was guessing maybe 4.15, which is unbelievable. ESPNEWS just had a guy on that was there and broke down the times per 20 yard segment. The first 40-yards Bolt ran a 3.82!!!! OMG!

Dude said that the last 40 yards, from 40 yard line on a football field, to the endzone, Bolt was at full speed, and ran it in 2.94 seconds.


INSANE!

I feel an ESPN prime time one hour special coming soon.

TEBOW VS. BOLT RACE TO DETERMINE WORLD'S FASTEST MAN!!!:eek:

[Crucifax Autumn]

Bolt ain't fast enough to be Tebow's shoes!

[OK2U]

Ain't got nothing on the SEC.

[JLEW1818]

honest to god.... between 3.8-4.1

[LawtonBoy74]

Bolt is the man!! I wish we could have him just run fade routes for us!!

[rainiersooner]

I know not everyone likes him, but I appreciate Stewie's take on this issue:


Stewart: In regard to the recent furor over Terrelle Pryor's 40 time: You would think with all the high-tech analysis available, someone could definitively lock down what Usain Bolt's 40 time was on the way to his 100-meter record. Ditto for any Olympic class sprinters. What do you say to once and for all blowing the 40 myth out of the water?
-- Paul Schlichting, Green, Ohio

Gladly. The following link contains the work of someone far more versed on track and field matters than myself. Mind you, this was posted before Bolt's most recent record-shattering performance, but based on the splits from his 100-meter performance in Beijing, the author calculated Bolt ran a 40 time of 4.35. Pryor, you may recall, clocked in at 4.33 (as his coaches and teammates recently reaffirmed.)

However, the comparison is more complicated than that. The author, a track coach in Canada, notes a 100-meter runner does not accelerate out of the block as quickly as someone running a 40 because that runner has to sustain his speed longer. Therefore, he likely reaches his top speed after the 40-yard mark (around 36 meters). To account for that, the author subtracts the "reaction time" from Bolt's score and estimates he reached 4.22 in Beijing.

If true, obviously that puts him in another category than Ohio State's quarterback. However, there are still a handful of college football players out there who, if we believe their 40 times, are capable of hanging with Usain Bolt. As of last year, Florida's Chris Rainey had been clocked at 4.24, and USC safety Taylor Mays has been credited with a 4.25. If these times were remotely accurate, then we would have to assume there's only a hair of difference between the fastest sprinter in the world and the nation's fastest college football players.

Instead, let's debunk this 40 myth once and for all by pointing out that Gators running back Jeff Demps, who the New York Times last year dubbed the "fastest man in pads," set the national high school record in the 100-meters when he clocked a 10.01 at the U.S. Olympic trials. That's still nearly a half-second slower than the 9.58 Bolt posted in Berlin last weekend. However, according to that same Times article, Demps was timed at a 4.21 in the 40 in high school -- four-hundredths of a second faster than Bolt's top speed in Beijing.

My advice: Whenever you read or hear about a college player's otherworldly 40 time, automatically add at least one-tenth of a second for a more accurate reading. That, or assume Bolt actually runs a 3.9.

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/stewart_mandel/08/19/acc-injuries/1.html#ixzz0OnqMVLOf

[adoniijahsooner]

It's amazing numerous Jamaican athletes have been sent home from the worlds for cheating; and Bolt is supposedly clean, huh?

[Crucifax Autumn]

Nah...just so high he can pass the speed of light...kinda like anyone in the SEC.

[boomersooner28]

Usain Bolt ran a 19.94 200-meter when he was 17 years old. 17! That would of had him coming in 5 place yesterday at the same race he broke the record in. He has the fastest times recorded for 14, 15 and 16-year olds. He has always been a freak.

[bearcat_sooner]

40 yards = 36.576 meters
36.576 meters divided by 200 meters = 0.18288
0.18288 times 19.19 200 meter time = 3.5094672 40 yd time

Is my math correct?

[OUwinsagain]

40 yards = 36.576 meters
36.576 meters divided by 200 meters = 0.18288
0.18288 times 19.19 200 meter time = 3.5094672 40 yd time

Is my math correct?

Your math is right, but you are assuming he is running full speed immediately and running the exact same speed the whole time.

So he wouldn't run anywhere near a 3.5 40 time.

[boomersooner28]

In my original post, the ESPN Track analyst guy had timed Bolt and did the calculations and conversions himself. He came up with, in Bolts first 40 yards, a 3.82 40.

[PhiDeltBeers]

Your math is right, but you are assuming he is running full speed immediately and running the exact same speed the whole time.

So he wouldn't run anywhere near a 3.5 40 time.

Correct....the first 40 (yards) will be his "slowest."

[Bruiser53]

40s are ran on grass. That probably will slow him up a bit. Still, I bet his time would still be absurdly fast.

[MojoRisen]

9.85 in the 100 would be a 4.9 50

my bet is he would run around that 3.8-4.0 flat in his first forty - then he looks like a Cheetah !

[Partial Qualifier]

crazy thing is, the dude is 6'5". To be that tall and sprint like he does.. freak o' nature

[PhiDeltBeers]

I can't even get my car to launch that fast.

[MojoRisen]

Bo Jackson reportedly used to run 4.1s in College - at least that is what the announcers were saying in a ESPN Classic cotton bowl against A&M.

[BoulderSooner79]

I'll bet more than one NFL GM were thinking "modern day Bob Hayes". But track guys don't need the NFL to make $$ these days.

[BornandBred]

Any chance this dude can catch a football?

[homerSimpsonsBrain]

Any chance this dude can catch a football for OU

[ouleaf]

All the speed in the world won't mean a thing if he can't beat the press. Could he run anything other than a go route?

[JLEW1818]

Imagine him playing College Football, running the option... yikes

[silverwheels]

Surely he is the upper limit of human physiology as far as running speed goes. It's hard to imagine getting faster than that.

Then again I'm sure people were saying that about Michael Johnson over a decade ago.

[JLEW1818]

ya, i was

[Collier11]

Bolt ain't fast enough to be Tebow's shoes!

He certainly isnt fast enough to get in Tebows pants

[MojoRisen]

I know several guys on the OU defense willing to go ahead and break the preverbial cherry!

[Eielson]

This 3.8 stuff is absolute crap.

[Eielson]

Surely he is the upper limit of human physiology as far as running speed goes. It's hard to imagine getting faster than that.

Then again I'm sure people were saying that about Michael Johnson over a decade ago.

In Johnson's defense, equipment and rest/recovery has improved some over the last 12 years (now 13 years). Bolt only slightly broke the record at the olympics, so with advancements considered, I'd still say Johnson's record was more impressive. I don't know enough to compare Bolt's most recent run to Johnson's, though.

Johnson does still hold the record for the 400M he set 10 years ago, and is the only person to ever when the 200M and 400M in the same Olympics. He's still right near the top as one of the best sprinters of all time.

I guess in the fastest conversation, 100M would mean more than 400M, so I guess Bolt wins the argument, but Johnson never was considered the fastest man ever for his 100M time.

[JLEW1818]

in the end, I'd say he would run a 3.95-4.05

[Curly Bill]

No way he goes under 4.0

[JLEW1818]

u don't think? dudes a freak!

they need to arrange this to happen

[Curly Bill]

u don't think? dudes a freak!

they need to arrange this to happen

No, I don't even think. Think of how fast the guys are that run 4.3's and then think how big a jump it is to get under 4.0

Yeah the dude's a freak, but he ain't Superman.

[JLEW1818]

I'd say running on grass would be a big part, in slowing him down... on track maybe

[Curly Bill]

I'd say running on grass would be a big part, in slowing him down... on track maybe

Nope, not even on a track.

[JLEW1818]

so how fast do u think? Mcfadden ran a 4.28 at the combine... Bolt is def faster than him.

[Curly Bill]

so how fast do u think? Mcfadden ran a 4.28 at the combine... Bolt is def faster than him.

Yeah, Bolt is definitely faster, but not .28 faster over just 40 meters.

[JLEW1818]

one thing to consider is in the 40, you run on your own time.. you don't wait for a starting gun. the starting gun delays runners a little bit, not much, but some for sure.

[Curly Bill]

...and I'm awaiting the hammer to fall on just what performance enhancers Mr. Bolt is using.

[JLEW1818]

lol

I just want somebody to set this 40 up

[Curly Bill]

lol

I just want somebody to set this 40 up

You can want it, but I bet ya it's not ever gonna happen. No one except fans of American football gives a rats-*** about 40 times. :P

[E-Town]

Bolt is so fast that one could use an actual live round in the start gun, point it down the track, fire and he would catch up to it and grab it before crossing the finish line.

He's a freak!

[JLEW1818]

You can want it, but I bet ya it's not ever gonna happen. No one except fans of American football gives a rat-*** about 40 times. :P

true... but the rest of the world sucks for the most part!! ha

[Ardmore_Sooner]

Can we offer him a scholarship?

[JLEW1818]

hehe CB said he's too slow for the Gators

[Eielson]

in the end, I'd say he would run a 3.95-4.05

I'd say he could get sub 4.2. Not under 4.0, though. Like I said, I'm not an expert, but I can definately say 3.8 is crap.

[picasso]

that's in spikes on a fast surface.

[rainiersooner]

Can we offer him a scholarship?

No, he ran "semi-pro" track.

[JLEW1818]

I'd still take M. Kelly over him, if he liked the surface

[PhiDeltBeers]

Bolt's so fast, he can turn the light off and be in bed asleep before the room gets dark.


:D

[goingoneight]

Bolt's so fast, he can turn the light off and be in bed asleep before the room gets dark.


:D

That's a prerequisite in the SEC.

[jkjsooner]

So, Bolt broke the world record in the 200 today in 19.19 seconds.

I was thinking to myself, what would he run the 40 in?

I was guessing maybe 4.15, which is unbelievable. ESPNEWS just had a guy on that was there and broke down the times per 20 yard segment. The first 40-yards Bolt ran a 3.82!!!! OMG!

Dude said that the last 40 yards, from 40 yard line on a football field, to the endzone, Bolt was at full speed, and ran it in 2.94 seconds.


INSANE!

I haven't read the entire thread so forgive me if someone posted this. You can subtract a tenth of a second or so from a sprinter's time due to the fact that they have to react to the sound of the gun. In 40 times the clock start when the guy goes.

[JLEW1818]

yep, me said that! or something like that.. lol

[jkjsooner]

yep, me said that! or something like that.. lol

Yep, just read it.

I'm trying to remember the last 100m I saw Bolt run. Does he get out fast or just pull away half way through? Obviously he does both but if I remember correctly the guys just has a top speed that nobody has - which makes sense considering his height and wouldn't necessarily translate to out of this world 40 times.

The guy is a freak though. It seems he's just toying with us as well. He even lets up quite often and it appears he wants to break his own record on just about every run. (I think he gets more money for every time he sets the record.) He might be one of the biggest freaks we've ever seen.

As for him playing American football, you do realize he's making tens of millions of dollars and is an international superstar. He probably barely even knows American football exists....

[JLEW1818]

i wouldn't want to play football either, if i could make millions and never be hit

[Leroy Lizard]

Bolt is so fast that one could use an actual live round in the start gun, point it down the track, fire and he would catch up to it and grab it before crossing the finish line.

Wouldn't it have been easier to simply say that he is "faster than a speeding bullet?"

[LawtonBoy74]

I think he can run sub 4.0....simply because there was a guy a couple of years ago by the name of Randall Williams who ran a 4.0 flat for the Dallas cowboys Donte Stallworth ran a 4.16 when he came out of Tennesse.. and I know Bolt is definitely faster than those two "fastest man in the world EVER".. and jlew and jkj adds even more points to argue in the fact that he has to start with the sound of a gun in track, which is not the case when running a 40