Fastest 40 Yard Dash Possible for World Class Sprinters

Are we assuming that these sprinters have trained to run the 40 for as long as NFL players have trained? Running a 40 at the combine is completely different than running a 60m or 100m. Also someone like Chris Johnson will reach his top speed quicker in a 40 than someone like Bolt during a 100. I'd say probably like 4.15ish if they trained for it.

slightly off topic... but Chris Johnson would be lucky if Bo Jackson were to allow him to hand wash his jock strap. http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2015/02/is_bo_jackson_the_true_record-.html

Long story short, roughly 4.15

Dude, Bo Jackson was hand timed. I'll repeat myself. Bo Jackson was hand timed. It's also believed he didn't run at the NFL combine either, he was hand timed at a university. The turf of which 40s are timed at universities have in server all cases been measured, coming out as less than 40 yards. It's also known that colleges will in many cases tell an athlete they ran faster than they did to give them a favorable impression of the school.

Bo ran that 40 yard dash about 30 years ago. The truth tends to be stretched over time, particularly when you're good at everything like Bo was. And he weighed 225lb, please don't tell me a man that heavy ran 4.12. "Oh, but he ran 4.18 that week too!" No, he did not, unless you actually believe that hand times are accurate. I've read that article before, I'm not ignoring those points. I'm just saying you should do your research

You're right, running a 40 is not anything like a 60m race, which is very different from a 100m sprint. However, I'm convinced most of us, from watching Usain Bolt, have gotten a wrong perspective on how fast track stars accelerate. In other words, no, Usain Bolt isn't acellerating slower than the NCAA football all-stars we see sprinting at the NFL combine.

The 40 yard dash is minimally improved by sprint mechanics. Muscular power relative to weight, particularly lower body power, is the key to unlocking faster 40 times. So many people assume that the lanky Bolt could put on 10-20lb of muscle, and practice accelerating more, and we would see a 4.1 or better.

Remember, Randy Moss (6'4" 210lb) was about Usain Bolt's size (6'5" 210lb), and he was a sprinter in high school and college. His reported 40 time was 4.25, 0.01 off the NFL record. Mind you, it was almost certainly hand timed, but very fast anyhow. What I'm trying to say is, since sprinters almost always squat quite a bit for their weight, Bolt could not become much faster than he already is in the 40.

Does Chris Johnson, whose 100m time from high school is 10.38, reach 20 yards faster than Bolt however? Probably. But then, he is the only man to be electronically timed running a 4.2 (I'm rounding the 4.24), so he is an outlier, like Bolt is to his sport.

So, while I see that you're thinking, I highly doubt Justin Gatlin, the best starter in the world right now, who's PB is 9.74 in the 100m, could have run a 4.1 if he had played football rather than run track. I still believe Chris Johnson's 4.24 is within 0.1 of human capability, at least in NFL combine conditions

You're right, running a 40 is not anything like a 60m race, which is very different from a 100m sprint. However, I'm convinced most of us, from watching Usain Bolt, have gotten a wrong perspective on how fast track stars accelerate. In other words, no, Usain Bolt isn't acellerating slower than the NCAA football all-stars we see sprinting at the NFL combine.

The 40 yard dash is minimally improved by sprint mechanics. Muscular power relative to weight, particularly lower body power, is the key to unlocking faster 40 times. So many people assume that the lanky Bolt could put on 10-20lb of muscle, and practice accelerating more, and we would see a 4.1 or better.

Remember, Randy Moss (6'4" 210lb) was about Usain Bolt's size (6'5" 210lb), and he was a sprinter in high school and college. His reported 40 time was 4.25, 0.01 off the NFL record. Mind you, it was almost certainly hand timed, but very fast anyhow. What I'm trying to say is, since sprinters almost always squat quite a bit for their weight, Bolt could not become much faster than he already is in the 40.

Does Chris Johnson, whose 100m time from high school is 10.38, reach 20 yards faster than Bolt however? Probably. But then, he is the only man to be electronically timed running a 4.2 (I'm rounding the 4.24), so he is an outlier, like Bolt is to his sport.

So, while I see that you're thinking, I highly doubt Justin Gatlin, the best starter in the world right now, who's PB is 9.74 in the 100m, could have run a 4.1 if he had played football rather than run track. I still believe Chris Johnson's 4.24 is within 0.1 of human capability, at least in NFL combine conditions

You all are making the wrong comparisons. Your average sub10 sprinter would run in the 4.3-4.4 range if we're talking FAT. However, if a sub10 guy runs a 40 and is timed in the same fashion as the nfl or ncaa, then they would likely be in the 3.8-4.0 range.

I coached a guy who ran 10.2 and his fastest 40y (en route to 60m) was 4.5x FAT. Verified and backed up with Dartfish. At first glance it seems like he ran a slow time, but in reality it proves that a 4.5 if its FAT is actually fast. Most "fast" nfl guys would be in the 4.5-4.6 range if its FAT. Seeing as how he's faster than 99% of the guys in the nfl, it only goes to show you how bogus the nfl combine times are. If he ran a 40 and it wasnt FAT, then he would be in the 4.1-4.2 range.

I read somewhere on here Skeets Nehemiah ran a 4.1 in his day

You have to factor in the timing mechanisms. The combine used to use hand timing, and they switched that to timing on first movement. And about first movement, Charlie Francis posted that he timed Ben Johnson by starting the watch on the first step and adding 0.6 seconds. That's how far off the NFL timing really is. Now here is Walter Dix, using the same first movement timing that the Combine uses, running a 3.75 40:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9EB4e6e94Y

Maurice Greene split 40y in 4.18 in his 60m WR that still stands, and ran 3.95 hand timed.

The way I see it, you take the NFL times and add 0.6 to get a FAT time. Consider that Jacobi Jones ran 7.00 in the Millrose Super 60 a few years ago. That time would not even qualify you to get into the meets they have at the University of Washington, and would get blown away by college guys if they let him in.

Here. This guy has a complete analysis.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FTvLrFK6v4

Best 10m splits in 100m

http://speedendurance.com/2008/08/22/usain-bolt-100m-10-meter-splits-and-speed-endurance/

Who is faster at 40 yards: Bolt or Ben?

http://speedendurance.com/2009/08/06/40-yard-dash-times-for-usain-bolt-and-ben-johnson/

War Eagle!

^trump card

Case closed.

exthrower wrote:

thejeff wrote:

War Eagle!

^trump card

Case closed.

Also probably on roids..

Blasphemy, you speak.

Sprinting & Middle Distance Fa wrote:

And he weighed 225lb, please don't tell me a man that heavy ran 4.12.

Weighing that much does not prevent you from being fast. Especially if most of that weight is muscle. Heavier things have moved faster - cats, ferraris, etc. It's physics.

Walter Dix did NOT run 3.75, think about what you're saying before you say it. And while you're at it, remember, if Dix were to run at the NFL combine, he'd be in football cleats (much heavier) on turf (MUCH softer, making him noticeably slower. And the clock starts on first movement, before the foot touches the ground for the first step. The NFL tested something like FAT, in a specialized method where the athlete has his hand on a pad at the start, and when he removes it as he starts the 40, the clock starts. The times were on average 0.2 seconds slower, not 0.6.

I haven't looked into Maurice Greene's 40, but I would believe 4.1 at his best. But I'm guessing you didn't read my first post. There's a big difference between PAT and hand timing. He may have appeared to run 3.95, but he was in track spikes, on a track with starting blocks. That's a massive advantage you've ignored

Yeah, that's true! The C7 corvette is the heaviest one so far, and the quickest!

Wait, who the heck am I kidding, we're talking about humans, not cars. From a theoretical perspective, as long as it doesn't interfere with range of motion, the more muscle and therefor strength, the faster one's 40 yard dash. But back to reality, the electronically timed 40 yard dash record that has been confirmed is 4.24 by a 190lb man. For the 60m world record, the fastest man weighed 165. At 100m & 200m the outlier Usain Bolt weighs in at an incredible 210lb, 15lb less than Jackson, and that's while being 4" taller. The 400m world record holder weighed 170lb.

So tell me, other than an unconfirmed 40 yard dash, certainly hand timed, as it was before PAT was in existence, by the great Bo Jackson, where is your 215+lb athlete who has been the fastest at any sprint?

World class? 4.1x or faster. The freaks of the freaks like Usain, Mo, Ben J and some of the start specialists guys (thinking Drummond, plenty of videos where he's destroying Mo Greene at 40m), faster.