Apparantly footballers can beat the 2009 Bolt over 40m

Chivito550

Complete nonsense, which most football fans will believe. Not only beat him, but by 2m. Wenger has even tweeted this rubbish.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/row-zed/arsenal-player-officially-faster-usain-5511747

L'prof

Chivito550 wrote: »

Complete nonsense, which most football fans will believe. Not only beat him, but by 2m. Wenger has even tweeted this rubbish.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/row-zed/arsenal-player-officially-faster-usain-5511747

Wenger??? Seriously??? You genuinely think he has an account and that's it???

overpronator

Chivito550 wrote: »

Complete nonsense, which most football fans will believe. Not only beat him, but by 2m. Wenger has even tweeted this rubbish.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/row-zed/arsenal-player-officially-faster-usain-5511747

Thats not a real Wenger twitter account, just someone using his picture:)

Chivito550

overpronator wrote: »

Thats not a real Wenger twitter account, just someone using his picture:)

Fair enough if so. Still all a load of rot in any case.

DrumSteve

Wenger...What was he thinking?

overpronator

Chivito550 wrote: »

Fair enough if so. Still all a load of rot in any case.

Absolutely, lowest common denominator click bait stuff but sure that's the tabloid press. Always on a wind up looking for traffic. :pac::pac:

nobody told me

Wenger even tweeted it!! ROFL!!!

Turtwig

They definitely could if it was a zig zagged sprint. They did an analysis of Ronaldo once "versus" athletes in other professions. It was an incredibly interesting read. I'll see if I can dig it up. The most interesting finding was how all athletes grossly underestimated the performance of each other. Soccer players may take shorter strides when sprinting but that "sloppy technique" doesn't impair them as much as one would think. Likewise, professional sprinters may not shift their centre of gravity as easily but it doesn't impair their change in direction (to "dribble") as much as someone like Ronaldo would have thought.

davedanon

I seem to remember them timing Ronaldo running the length of the pitch to score a goal. It was impressive enough, 11-some seconds.

Chivito550

davedanon wrote: »

I seem to remember them timing Ronaldo running the length of the pitch to score a goal. It was impressive enough, 11-some seconds.

Impressive for a footballer, given he has to control a ball also at certain points of that run I assume.

But it's such a pointless comparison. A football pitch ranges from 90m to 120m, goal line to goal line. Unless he started on his own goal line and tapped the ball in on the opposing goal line then he did NOT run the length of the pitch in 11.xx seconds.

And let's not forget the fact that these are from running starts, and possibly hand times also. Put Ronaldo into a 100m race and he does not break 11 seconds.

I love the way people think these guys could be as quick as sprint specialists. Excluding everything else, when have Spain, Portugal, Argentina had world class sprinters? Genetics suggests these footballers are unlikely to be great, even if they were brought up as athletes, rather than footballers.

barryoneill50

http://www.givemesport.com/347454-world-football-fastest-100m-sprinters
A few listed here, nippy enough......

Chivito550

barryoneill50 wrote: »

http://www.givemesport.com/347454-world-football-fastest-100m-sprinters
A few listed here, nippy enough......

All bar number 1 and 4 are hand times. Add 0.24 if the person operating the manual timing system is experienced. Add much more if it is somebody who doesn't know what they are doing (the more likely scenario).

Also, I love the way a couple of them claim their times without any mention of where and when. Very easy to claim a time with no proof. I could do that sure.

efb

The most truthful thing about that tweet is Wenger- and that's not Wenger!

Pherekydes

Do we have a wind reading for that run? :pac:

I recall that testing Ronaldo did a few years ago against the Spanish 100m record holder. They tested them (separately) over 40 yds. The Spaniard was 3 tenths faster! That's 3 full metres over 40 yds.

I'd be surprised if Bellerin was under 5 secs under race conditions. Bring back the Superstars! I'd like to see Bellerin (or any other soccer player) up against some NFL players.

average_runner

This topic is about as much stupid as when bolt said he was good enough to play on the wings for utd.

Oh wait maybe Wenger tweeted it also.

NetwerkErrer

Pherekydes wrote: »

Do we have a wind reading for that run? :pac:

I recall that testing Ronaldo did a few years ago against the Spanish 100m record holder. They tested them (separately) over 40 yds. The Spaniard was 3 tenths faster! That's 3 full metres over 40 yds.

I'd be surprised if Bellerin was under 5 secs under race conditions. Bring back the Superstars! I'd like to see Bellerin (or any other soccer player) up against some NFL players.

I love this! It always goes on in the NFL combine. Chris Johnson ran a 4.23ish 40 yard dash and people on letsrun are always going on about it. The 40 yard dash in the combine is electronically timed yes but there's no reaction time. The clock starts when the athletes move and not before. They don't have to react to the gun.

Chris Johnson is ridiculously quick and would blow Ronaldo out the water in a sprint. 2 sprinters tried it this year during the combine and ran 4:0x using the same system and they weren't even sub-10 guys. Walter Dix has supposedly run 3.7x handtimed for the 40 yard dash.

KielyUnusual

Was very surprised by this when I saw it. Can't imagine a heavy weight boxer doing much specific sprint training

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJMIwlQB-28

Sacksian

Obviously, the article is a bit of harmless nonsense but I don't think you can dismiss the fact that there are a fair few footballers who could have had careers in athletics. In most countries, the best athletes are playing more popular sports, like football, and it wouldn’t be that strange for some of them to be able to run 11 seconds.

Footballers do an incredible amount of strength & conditioning work and sprints all the time. You can look at how certain players run and just tell they’re able to move. Someone like Serge Gnabry at Arsenal is built and shifts like a sprinter. Aaron Ramsey looks like (and was) a middle distance runner (he ran 2:05 for 800 and 48 for 300 on the same day as a 15 yo pentathlete!).

Older football fans might remember Chris Kiwomya, who played for Ipswich, Arsenal and QPR - his nephew Alex, who is at Chelsea, ran under 11 seconds and 49s for 400m at 14!

Adam Gemili was still combining football and athletics when he won silver at the 2011 European Juniors.

US track and field has similar stories about sprinters lost to the sport.

NetwerkErrer

KielyUnusual wrote: »

Was very surprised by this when I saw it. Can't imagine a heavy weight boxer doing much specific sprint training

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJMIwlQB-28

That was serious to be fair, I suppose he's going to be loaded with FT fibers from weight lifting and training. The Brownlee's had a shocker, really expected them to have some decent basic speed.

It's like Olympic weightlifters having some of the highest vertical jumps in the world. Just loaded with explosiveness.

average_runner

Who is the current England 100m sprinter that failed as soccer player so turned to the 100m?

Ah it's Adam gemill, 10:04 for 100m.

NetwerkErrer

average_runner wrote: »

Who is the current England 100m sprinter that failed as soccer player so turned to the 100m?

Adam Gemili. Wasn't a failed soccer player really. Just decided to focus on track.

average_runner

NetwerkErrer wrote: »

Adam Gemili. Wasn't a failed soccer player really. Just decided to focus on track.

Spent 7 years at Chelsea and got dropped, went to conference division and did nothing.

menoscemo

KielyUnusual wrote: »

Was very surprised by this when I saw it. Can't imagine a heavy weight boxer doing much specific sprint training

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJMIwlQB-28

Not surprising really. Joshua is a super Athlete and a lot of power.
He also ran 2:20 for the 800 and won the 3k cycle if I recall correctly. He pretty much won everything he entered in superstars except, surprsingly, the Javelin which Mo Farrah won!!

NetwerkErrer

average_runner wrote: »

Spent 7 years at Chelsea and got dropped, went to conference division and did nothing.

Haha! 2 minutes ago, you didn't know his name. He was 19 when he stopped playing, plenty of time to succeed!

Chivito550

average_runner wrote: »

Who is the current England 100m sprinter that failed as soccer player so turned to the 100m?

Ah it's Adam gemill, 10:04 for 100m.

Just because he wasn't that great a footballer doesn't mean better footballers than him would be better sprinters. Athletics is clearly his talent and he made the right call to fully focus on it.

average_runner

NetwerkErrer wrote: »

Haha! 2 minutes ago, you didn't know his name. He was 19 when he stopped playing, plenty of time to succeed!

Was never going to achieve in soccer, he was going down to lower leagues and not getting his game.

Google tells us everything. Be careful what they know about u:)

I find out his favourite ice cream in a second

average_runner

Chivito550 wrote: »

Just because he wasn't that great a footballer doesn't mean better footballers than him would be better sprinters. Athletics is clearly his talent and he made the right call to fully focus on it.

I never said anything like that. Ronaldo is a good footballer like bolt is a good sprinter.

Pherekydes

Craig Pickering weighs in:

That someone with almost perfect genetics, who spends 6 days per week honing his unbelievable talent, would be beaten over 40m by someone who does a bit of sprint training?

Clearly, it’s stupid.

http://craigpickering.com/2015/04/speed-footballers/

RayCun

and Richard Kilty

Pherekydes

Beat me to it.

RayCun

the story is silly from any angle though. 'officially' is the new 'literally'

sconhome

In fairness though there was a documentary (or possibly a book I read) that mentioned that Bolt is slower than most sprinters over the first 20-25m and only settles into his stride after 40m and continues to accelerate through the finish when most are slowing down at 80/90m.

So in theory it is possible that a footballer soccer player is faster over 40m. Would love to see them all line up together though.

Chivito550

AKW wrote: »

In fairness though there was a documentary (or possibly a book I read) that mentioned that Bolt is slower than most sprinters over the first 20-25m and only settles into his stride after 40m and continues to accelerate through the finish when most are slowing down at 80/90m.

So in theory it is possible that a footballer soccer player is faster over 40m. Would love to see them all line up together though.

No it is not possible. He ran the first 60 of that 100 in 6.31 which is faster than the 60m indoor WR. So he can't possibly have been laboured in the first 30-40m.

Seriously. This lad wouldn't make a Spanish National 60m semi final, let alone beat the fastest guy in history.

DocQismyJesus

This whole debate just slams one particular thing home. No sportsman can excel in everything. Sprinting/ distance running takes full commitment in the same way that football/ rugby/ boxing NFL does. If you neglect one sport to work on another you simply won't be world class in the sport you don't spend huge amounts of time working on

Plenty of sportsmen have been blessed with great sprinting / running talent - but they likely won't reach their full potential unless they choose to focus on it. Example: Willie Gault was an NFL WR and previous to that a 10 flat 100m guy. There is NO WAY he was in 10 flat shape when he gave up sprinting for NFL. I reckon he'd still pull a 10.6/10.7 out of the bag but the reality is that is blazing speed for a non specialist and probably all that's required to be fastest player in the league.

All that is to say that while I've no doubt a guy like Walcott has serious natural sprinting talent- he doesn't work on it, he works on football. Therefore he certainly isn't currently as fast as a Gemili who does Athletics full time...

Pherekydes

AKW wrote: »

In fairness though there was a documentary (or possibly a book I read) that mentioned that Bolt is slower than most sprinters over the first 20-25m and only settles into his stride after 40m and continues to accelerate through the finish when most are slowing down at 80/90m.

So in theory it is possible that a footballer soccer player is faster over 40m. Would love to see them all line up together though.

Bolt might be slower than a very few super elite sprinters over 20m, but we're talking about a young soccer player here, not fully professional super elite sprinters.

I would love to see the fastest premier league players line up for a race (over any distance) against Richard Kilty, who is definitely not Usain Bolt.

Pherekydes

DocQismyJesus wrote: »

Example: Willie Gault was an NFL WR and previous to that a 10 flat 100m guy. There is NO WAY he was in 10 flat shape when he gave up sprinting for NFL.

Gault was drafted in April 1983 (Yeah, the famous draft of drafts). He won gold on the 4x100m in August 1983 at the WC, helping to set a WR in the process. He also won bronze in the 110mHurdles. He was in super incredible shape starting his NFL career. He wasn't even the fastest man in that draft class. Darrell Green who was several times NFL's fastest man, was drafted last in round one. Gault still competes, and holds several age-group records, including 10.88 at age 51.

DocQismyJesus

Pherekydes wrote: »

Gault was drafted in April 1983 (Yeah, the famous draft of drafts). He won gold on the 4x100m in August 1983 at the WC, helping to set a WR in the process. He also won bronze in the 110mHurdles. He was in super incredible shape starting his NFL career. He wasn't even the fastest man in that draft class. Darrell Green who was several times NFL's fastest man, was drafted last in round one. Gault still competes, and holds several age-group records, including 10.88 at age 51.

Wow. 10.88 @ 51 is mind boggling. I'll defer to you and that one P