Usain Bolt took 'ultimate' NFL speed test two years after retiring and his performance shocked fans

Usain Bolt took the NFL's 'ultimate' speed test two years after retiring and his performance shocked fans.

NFL's speed test consists of a short dash and is a sprint covering 40 yards to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL draft.

'Skill' positions such as running back, wide-receiver and defensive back are put to the test, but, nowadays, a fast 40-yard dash time is considered important for almost every position.

The sprint is not an official race in track and field athletics and is not an IAAF-recognised event.

But sprint legend Bolt, who won three Olympic gold medals in the 100m race during his iconic career, tested himself in the 'ultimate' test of speed for American football players.

In 2019, two years after he called time on his athletic career, the Jamaican icon showed off his pace at the 2019 Super Bowl Experience in Atlanta, Georgia.

Bolt, wearing joggers, blazed through the grass to tie a then-NFL record, clocking an incredible time of 4.22 seconds.

At the time, that tied the time of wide-receiver John Ross, who hit the same time in the 40-yard dash at the 2017 NFL Combine.

That record stood until 2024 when Xavier Worthy, a first-round pick out of Texas last year, broke the record for the fastest 40-yard dash when he clocked a time of 4.21 seconds at the NFL Combine, beating Ross' record which was set in 2017.

NFL prospect Isaiah Bond vowed to break Worthy's record, telling reporters last Friday that he would secure a faster time.

"I've been running my whole life," Bond said. "I've been one of the fastest my whole life, so I'm going to go out there, and when practice meets preparation, greatness is achieved. So, I'm just going to trust my training and put on a show."

But Bond, who ran the 40-yard dash in 4.39 seconds, came up significantly short before being mocked by Worthy, who tweeted: "There’s fast then there’s me."