The evolution of sport is increasingly moving away from technique and towards physicality. The trend is evident to a point where the obsession with being in the gym has overtaken the hours of specialized technical training.
Speed is one of the primary characteristics of most sports. Being fast tends to give a competitive edge that, on many occasions, makes the difference between winning and losing.
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A tenth can make or break a gold medal; a sprint can make or break a goal and a kick-off return can make or break a Super Bowl. It is all or nothing. That minute difference is capable of changing an athlete’s life.
The kings of speed have made the 100m race their perfect measuring ground. But what would happen if we pitted the fastest athletes in each sport against each other?
Football
The two new phenoms of world football have speed in their DNA. Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland have managed to combine fabulous technique with brutal speed. The result can be seen every weekend with PSG and Manchester City.
When it comes to pure speed, the French striker has the edge. Kylian clocked an incredible 38 km/h in a sprint from midfield in the Parisians’ win over Monaco.
Haaland is not far behind and even broke all the Bundesliga records when he reached a top speed of 36 km/h while playing for Borussia Dortmund.
If we look at Spain, we find two players above the rest: Adama Traore and Marcos Llorente who have both also reached speeds close to 36 km/h.
Basketball
The ultimate power in basketball is found in the NBA. The huge physical difference compared to the rest of the international leagues is evident and the physical differences are evident when a FIBA team is measured against a team from the NBA.
In this particular game we find one man above the rest. Russell Westbrook. The controversial point guard leads the entire league in top speed with a record of 34.76 Km/h.
The phenom LeBron James is not too far behind his current Lakers teammate. The King has even sprinted up to 34 km/h.
Tennis
Measuring top speed in tennis is complicated by the fact that tennis is a sport where the main sprints are short and explosive. However, a study by Tennis Australia in 2016 revealed the ranking of the fastest players.
Djokovic came out on top, well ahead of the rest and with an almost unbelievable speed for a tennis player: 36.02 km/h for the Serb.
It is surprising, however, that Rafa Nadal only hit 26.84 km/h when the Spaniard has proven to be an expert in reaching impossible balls every other match.
American Football
After athletics, American football is arguably the sport that places the greatest importance on speed. Every second gained can mean millions of dollars when it comes to signing a contract.
Tyreek Hill, wide receiver for the Miami Dolphins, embodies the spirit of the all-out sprinter. Able to run over 37 km/h, Hill himself challenged Bolt himself to a 70-metre race.
Rugby
The legendary Jonah Lomu put rugby on the global map with an almost unique physical appearance. Almost two meters tall and weighing 120 kilos, he ‘flew’ at over 35 km/h. The New Zealander became unstoppable to become a global sporting icon.
A ‘Ruck’ report put Lomu himself at 10.70 seconds in the 100m dash. However, the Kiwi is not the fastest rugby player. That is because there is the case of Trae Williams. This Herculean-looking Australian, capable of running the 100m in 10.1 seconds, decided to abandon athletics, where he was a star, to try his hand at Rugby 7s.
Motorsport
And what would the timing be for cars and motorbikes? Strangely enough, the same. Both the Formula 1 and MotoGP cars would take 2.6 seconds to do the 100 meters. The acceleration of both machines is not exactly their best quality and they would suffer at the start, but once in action they would fly to 136 km/h in less than three seconds.
The winner of this particular race would be decided by thousandths of a second and the skill of each rider once the lights went out.
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