The world of track and field always gets thrust into the spotlight every four years because of the Olympic games. In particular, the title for “World’s Fastest Man” is the event that brings the most eyeballs on the entire universe. The 100 meter dash is like a heavyweight title fight. It is where we find out who has put in the best work the past four years and who gets to earn a medal around their neck.
This week the athletics world has been buzzing with news that Seattle Seahawks WR D.K. Meltcalf entered into a professional 100 meter dash this Sunday at the USA Track and Field Golden Games in Walnut, California. Metcalf is coming off of a Pro Bowl sophomore season, where he had 83 receptions and a franchise record 1,303 receiving yards. He also had perhaps the most viral moment of the season when he ran down Bubba Baker the whole length of the football field to make a touchdown saving tackle. This was the moment that got people talking about Metcalf’s speed and his potential in professional sprinting. Let’s take a deep dive into what this means and what to expect from it.
First, we will take a quick look at how other NFL players have served in the athletics world. Probably the most successful person to perform this athletic feat is “Bullet” Bob Hayes. Hayes is the only athlete in history to win an Olympic gold medal and a Super Bowl title. He won his Super Bowl while with the Dallas Cowboys in the 1960’s and earned his gold medals in the 100 meter dash and 4X100 meter relay at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. He ran a time of 9.9 seconds hand timed in the 100 and also ran somewhere between a 8.5 and 8.9 second split for his leg of the relay, which is still the fastest split in history.
There have been people like Willie Gault, who in the 1980’s would have run on the 4X100 meter team at the 1980 games had the USA not boycotted it. Former athletes like James Jett, Michael Bates, Jeff Demps, and current athletes like Marquise Goodwin have shown that they can compete with the world’s fastest men while also being in the NFL. However, Metcalf is different from the rest of them because he has not competed in any track and field event since he was in high school.
Looking back at what Metcalf did in high school on the track, nothing really jumps off the page that says he will be able to keep up with his competition on Sunday. He has never ran an open 100 meter dash. He has only ran in the 110 meter hurdles and 300 meter hurdles, with a personal record of 14.89 seconds and 41.03 seconds respectively in those events. He also did the triple jump, with a personal record of 46’ 5. While these numbers are good for a high school athlete, there is nothing in these numbers that say Metcalf will be able to keep up with the sprinters he is facing.
All the NFL beat writers keep bringing up two stats that they think proves that Metcalf will be able to keep pace on Sunday. Metcalf’s 40 yard dash time of 4.33 seconds and the fact that he peaked at 22.64 miles per hour when he chased down Budda Baker. These two stats are almost meaningless. A 40 yard dash is barely a third of a 100 meter dash and if you think Metcalf is going to be running 22 miles per hour during the entire duration of his run, you are sorely mistaken. He will be able to maintain that speed for about 10 meters once he reaches top speed, not the entire 100 meters.
My prediction for Metcalf’s performance in the 100 meter dash goes as follows. He will get off to a poor start out of the blocks and be down early in the race. He will then tighten up and close the last 30 meters with decent top-end speed, finishing with a time somewhere between 10.4 and 10.3 seconds. A time like that is still faster than 99% of the world, but Metcalf is racing guys like Ronnie Baker and Mike Rodgers, who are both sub 10 second runners at the 100 and have world-class sprinting credentials.
I do, however, think this is a great thing for the track and field world. The sport is always trying to bring new eyeballs to it and what better way to do that then bring some of the biggest names in the other major sports and let them see if they can hang with the big dogs. While I do not think Metcalf’s attempt to qualify for the Olympic Trials will be successful, as he would need to run at a minimum Olympic Standard qualifying time of 10.05 seconds, I would like to see some other ones give it a shot.
Tyreek Hill has PR’s of 9.98 and 20.14 seconds in the 100 and 200 meter dash. Those times are much more comparable to what Olympic sprinters are currently running. Auburn WR and sprinter Anthony Schwartz just got drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the third round of the NFL Draft. He has a PR of 10.09 seconds in the 100 and represented the USA at the World U20 Championship. While I do want to commemorate Metcalf for having the stones to actually get out there and run, I do think there are better qualified people in the NFL to try and carry the torch for them. One thing’s for sure, I will definitely be watching on Sunday and hope that this at least inspires more major sport athletes to see if they really are the fastest in the world.
Bike Tyson Sports 