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Could these Liverpool players make Team GB sprint squad in 2016?

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Clyne was one of the fastest players in the Premier League last season

Clyne was one of the fastest players in the Premier League last season

It may seem a bizarre question to consider but, considering the increasing speeds at which the world’s top footballers can now reach, it isn’t as far fetched as it may seem to suggest that there are players in the Liverpool squad that could potentially make the sprint team for Team GB at next summer’s Rio Olympics.

Based on stats from last season’s Premier League, there’s no doubting that a certain somebody that left the club only a month ago was the fastest sprinter in the Reds’ squad, clocking in at a highest speed of 21.78mph, but you may be surprised to hear that our current club captain – Jordan Henderson – is barely that much slower at 21.30mph.

The Liverpool captain is renowned for his work-rate and the amount of ground that he covers, so it may come as some surprise to find out that he’s one of the fastest players in the Premier League.

It’s widely known that Usain Bolt’s average speed is 23.35mph across 100 meters, and there are very few trained sprinters in the world that could come close. So it’s quite impressive to see that Jordan clocks in at a speed of just 2mph slower. So much for a player that was once criticised by Alex Ferguson for his posture and running style!

Yet, he still isn’t the fastest in the Reds squad; that honour goes to Nathaniel Clyne, who managed a top speed of 21.41mph, making him the 6th fastest in the league and one of the fastest in Europe. Like Henderson, he is still significantly behind Bolt. But, then again, there aren’t many that come close to the legendary sprinter, meaning that the likes of Clyne and Henderson could (technically) be in with a shout, if they opted to try out for Team GB.

With a whole new squad, and a new season ahead of us, it’ll be interesting to see if any of the new boys emerge as potential top class sprinters.

What other sports could Brendan Rodgers’ boys try their hands at? Let us know in the comments and try out the Fitness First Sports Profiler tool for yourself below.



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I'm a 32 year old Liverpool fan, living in the heart of the City Centre. I've supported the club since the day I was born and have been writing articles for L4L for over 3 years, writing close over 350 articles in that time. My favorite player of the past generation is Sami Hyypia.

I am the current editor for L4L, with my day job being in R&D for the NHS.

1 comment

  • Tom c says:

    To say that they could technically be in with a shout is completely unsupported by your article. What would have been far more relevant would have been comparisons between sprint speeds from members of team GB and Henderson and Clyne.

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