Football sprint record smashed with speed athletes would be proud of

A little-known Nigerian footballer has reportedly clocked the fastest speed of any player over the past two years, meaning he is officially faster than world-class stars such as Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland.

On Sunday (1 March), Belgian side Genk secured a comfortable 3-0 win over Gent with strikes from Zakaria El Ouahdi, Noah Adedeji-Sternberg and Yira Sor ensuring the Limburg club took all three points.

And despite Sor no doubt being pleased with rounding off the victory, he may not have realised that he broke the record for Europe’s fastest footballer.

In the 92nd minute, the 25-year-old Nigerian ran almost the entire length of the pitch before finishing past Davy Roef.

As reported by HLN, Sor clocked a top speed of 37.7 kilometres per hour, which means he is officially the fastest player in Europe over the past two years.

Sor bettered Newcastle United forward William Osula’s previous record of 36.9 km/h, while Wolves’ Jackson Tchatchoua is third on the list of fastest footballers with a highest speed of 36.7 km/h.

Brighton winger Yankuba Minteh is fourth with a speed of 36.2 km/h, while Real Madrid and France forward Mbappé makes up the top five with a top speed of 35.8 km/h.

Tottenham’s Mathys Tel (35.7 km/h), Nottingham Forest’s Anthony Elanga (35.7 km/h), Wolves’ Emmanuel Agbadou (35.6 km/h), Strasbourg’s Ben Chilwell (35.5 km/h), and Manchester City’s Haaland (35.5 km/h) are also in the top ten fastest players over the past two years.

But how would Sor fare against a professional sprinter if he ran at the same pace he did on Sunday?

When Usain Bolt set the 100-metre sprint record at the 2009 World Athletics Championships, he reached a top speed of 44.72 km/h between the 60–80 metre mark, with an average ground speed of 37.58 km/h, which is slightly slower than Sor’s top speed.

Devon Maes, Head of Health and Performance at Racing Genk, explained the reason why Sor is so fast when speaking to Sporza.

“We knew that Yira is very fast, but this is exceptional,” he explained.

"The sprint also immediately caught our attention. Yira was fortunate that he could run in a very straight line and didn't encounter anyone to hinder him.

"He has the perfect muscle composition to reach top speeds. With very strong and elastic tendons."

Genk return to action against Union Saint-Gilloise on 7 March.