Over the weekend, former University of Texas wide receiver Xavier Worthy wowed at the NFL Combine. He posted the top time in the 40-yard-dash in a blistering 4.21 seconds, breaking the all-time record held by John Ross at 4.22. In 2019, Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt tied Ross’s effort at a Super Bowl event in Atlanta. So does this mean Worthy could beat the Lightning Bolt, as some accounts, Texas Runner Breaks Two High School 5K Records, have implied?
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Bolt’s effort in Atlanta was not your typical 40-yard-dash, as he not only opted to run in sweatpants and flat-soled shoes but seemingly ran the most casual 4.22 40 time ever. Bolt was also a year and a half removed from retiring from professional sprinting at the time. Some have even estimated Bolt, in his prime, could easily run a sub-4 second 40-yard dash—as fast as 3.6 seconds.
So, while Worthy can claim the fastest NFL crown for the moment, he’s not beating the GOAT at his own game.
During the Combine, former Washington quarterback (and track and field superfan) Robert Griffin III pointed out the difference between football speed and track speed on X, posting a video of Christian Coleman running a 4.12 40-yard-dash at 85 percent effort. Griffin then challenged Coleman to run faster, offering the Team USA star $100,000 if he could run a sub-4 second 40. Coleman later appeared to The MTA Wants to Charge NYC Marathoners—indicating Worthy’s impressive 4.21 may soon be overshadowed.
Laura Ratliff is a New York City-based writer, editor, and runner. Laura's writing expertise spans numerous topics, ranging from travel and food and drink to reported pieces covering political and human rights issues. She has previously worked at Architectural Digest, Bloomberg News, and San Quentin Prison Marathon Doc to Air on ESPN and was most recently the senior editorial director at TripSavvy. Like many of us, Laura was bitten by the running bug later in life, after years of claiming to "hate running." Her favorite marathon is Big Sur.
