No chance.
Bengals wide receiver John Ross challenged Usain Bolt to a 40-yard dash before the NFL Draft last month.
Bolt responded Saturday, asked by ESPN.com what he thought Ross’ chances were of winning the race that will never happen.
“Zero. Absolutely none, you know what I mean?” Bolt said, chuckling. “I think over the years people always aim to the top. Always. I’ve learned something through the ranks that it’s a ladder. But no one wants to climb the ladder. Everybody just wants to get to the top of the ladder. They always want to beat me, but no, no chance.”
Ross, a University of Washington product, broke the NFL combine record by running a 4.22-second 40-yard dash in March.
“I would compare my speed to Usain Bolt,” Ross, drafted No. 9 overall by the Bengals, said before the draft. “In a 40-yard dash, I think I’d beat Usain Bolt. Usain Bolt, I know I can get you in the 40. Whenever you want to meet me up, we can do it.”
Ross’ claim became hollow when another sprinter, American Christian Coleman, ran a 40-yard dash in 4.12 seconds in video posted last week by the University of Tennessee.
Coleman has a 100m personal best of 9.95 seconds and finished sixth at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials. Bolt has a 100m personal best of 9.58 seconds and won the last three Olympic titles.
Ross responded to Bolt’s words of wisdom later Saturday, via Twitter:
“i just wasnt gonna say he could beat me nothing but respect for the [goat emoji],” was posted on Ross’ account.
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Yo @WatchJRoss, I just asked @usainbolt about your 40-yard challenge. Here's the 🐐message to all y'all chasing his crown: pic.twitter.com/r6uTx5eFoB
— Jesse Washington (@jessewashington) May 6, 2017
💀 i just wasnt gonna say he could beat me nothing but respect for the 🐐 https://t.co/CwrVLOq1Hf
— Rohn Joss (@WatchJRoss) May 6, 2017