The worlds of track & field and the NFL have one of the most unique relationships. Both sports are united by their athletes’ speed but are divided by who is faster. The argument over which sport has the faster sprinters has been around since (seemingly) the dawn of time. In a recent update on the topic of debate, NFL player Tyreek Hill stated he could defeat any track athlete. In turn, the track & field community came back with some thoughts of their own. But the biggest claim came from American sprinter Ronnie Baker.
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So what exactly did Tyreek Hill say? And what reactions he got to his statements? Let’s find out.
Ronnie Baker is ready to wager his entire year’s salary for a showdown with the NFL star
Famously known as ‘Tyfreak’ or ‘Cheetah,’ Tyreek Hill plays as the Wide Receiver for the Miami Dolphins. Renowned for his pace, Hill took a dig at professional track & field athletes by stating, “40-yard dash between me and Usain Bolt, I’m definitely beating him.” And this was enough to rattle the Track & Field community as they rallied together to put an end to such claims.
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Retired Canadian sprinter Anson Henry replied by asking, “who gives a sh*t? I’m just trying to figure out why people in other sports, especially American football, continuously talk about competing with track athletes. These NFL football players need to chill, man,” added a distraught Anson Henry.
Rallying alongside Henry was American Track athlete Ronnie Baker. The sprinter commented he would “take out a mortgage on my home and put up my entire salary for a year to race any NFL football player head to head.“
Is ‘Tyfreak’ faster than Bolt or Baker?
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With such bold claims coming from Tyreek Hill, it wouldn’t be wrong to look at his best 60m dash and pitch them against some of the best in the biz, right?
Right off the bat, the 28-year-old wide receiver is quick on his feet. In March 2014, Hill recorded his fastest official 60m dash with an impressive time of 6.64 seconds. But sadly for him, it pales in comparison to the 60m timings from both Bolt and Baker. When Usain Bolt set the world record for the 100m sprint, he completed the first 60m of the race in 6.31 seconds. While Ronnie Baker has a PB of 6.40 seconds, which makes him the third-fastest athlete in the event history.
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Judging by the numbers, the professional sprinters will have the edge over the NFL star. What are your thoughts on which athlete would be faster?