Jahvid Best Put On A Good Show At Rio Olympics

One of the great NFL stories of 2016 took place south of the equator when former Detroit Lions running back Jahvid Best competed in the Rio Olympics.

Representing his native home of Saint Lucia, he’d made competitive sprinting his life goal after football no longer became an option due to multiple concussion issues. Through hard work he qualified for the games and proceeded to show why he was such an instant threat when he played for Detroit. He made it through six qualifying heats, setting up a shot at reigning 100m sprint kingpin Usain Bolt in the seventh. Though it was unrealistic to think he’d win, just the fact that he’d gone from taking hand-offs in 2011 to this is something special.

Best finished seventh in the race, effectively eliminating him from contention. Bolt claimed the win with a 10.07 times but the former running back held his own with a 10.32. It’s worth mentioning that Bolt is 6’5″. Those long legs of his are a big reason why he’s able to move as fast as he does. To think Best went against him at just 5’9″ pretty much puts it in perspective.

At age 27 it’s possible he might be looking four years down the road to the next games in Tokyo. By that point he’ll have really established himself as a sprinter rather than just a former football player who runs fast. Here’s hope he can achieve his dream.