Arsenal’s Hector Bellerin Is Actually Quicker Than Usain Bolt – Over 40 Metres

It’s official – Arsenal’s Hector Bellerin is in reality faster than Usain Bolt – over 40 metres at most.

After beating Theo Walcott’s long-standing sprint record at Arsenal with a 40m sprint time of 4.41 seconds, it has been claimed that Bellerin was in fact quicker than Jamaican sprinter, Usain Bolt.

It’s true…sort of (Pictures: AP/Getty)

Plenty – including a clutch of high-profile athletes – refuted the suggestion, but the BBC have now confirmed that Bellerin’s sprint time is quicker than Bolt’s first 40m when he set his 100m world record with a time of 9.58 seconds in 2009.

That being said, the Spaniard doesn’t think he could beat Bolt in a race…

Bellerin in a typical pose… (Picture: Getty)

‘Well I obviously I’d fancy it but there’s nothing I think I could do. Obviously he’s a sprinter and he’s the fastest man in the world,’ he told the BBC as part of their Football Focus show.
‘I know I’ve seen a lot of people saying I’m faster than him but it’s always different with a ball at your feet and that’s what my job is about so I would not try and beat him.’

Is Bellerin actually faster than Bolt?

Obviously, Bellerin wouldn’t beat Bolt in a 100m race – if he could, then he’d be in the wrong sport.

But there’s no denying that Bellerin’s 40m time is quicker than Bolt’s first 40m of that famous world record race.

According to biomechanical analysis that was published by the IAAF after the race, Bolt clocked a time of 4.64 seconds for his first 40m – 0.23 seconds slower than Bellerin.

There are caveats, though – Bolt’s time comes from a standing start, and he generally doesn’t hit top speed until about 40m into a race. Bellerin’s time, on the other hand, may well have come from a running start, which would obviously leave Bolt playing catch up.

It’s also worth noting that Bolt ran the next 40m of that race in an absurdly quick 3.28 seconds, which we doubt Bellerin would be able to contend with.

We’d still like to see them race, though – but perhaps only if they both had a ball at their feet…