The 40-Yard dash: could anybody outrun Usain Bolt?

[Filebacker]

What if the quickest NFL-players of all time would be placed in the same time in history, at the same age, to the same tracks and be made compete under the same circumstances? And what would the best track and field sprint athletes of all time be able to achieve in 40 yards, and similarly the fastest NFL-players in sprint races? 40-yard dash is very different from 100 meters and even 60 meters.

The results of the following analysis may surprice you!

40 Yards to Daylight!

http://spreadingmyfinns.blogspot.fi/

[lonewolf]

Whew!!! The author certainly gave it a lot of thought.. but we will never know.

[Bruce Kritzler]

Didn't think i was interested in reading another thread on 40yd dash times. But sure glad I did, as this is the most thorough analysis I've ever seen. Standardizes timing, surfaces, distances, era's. Do have to wonder if Mel Pender should have been included?

[catson52]

Thorough analysis it may be, but it has an obvious error that anyone who remembers Tokyo 1964 will note. Hayes ran the final (inside lane), which immediately followed the (start of ?) the 20 km Walk - this final was not held the previous day. The lanes were "raked" if I recall correctly, but not really smoothened out.

[gh]

35 walkers did 3 laps of the track immediately before the 100 final. Jim Dunaway's report in T&FN notes that the curb lane (Hayes's), was "raked and scraped" but no rolled.