I first heard of Hector Bellerin when news broke that he had broken Theo Walcott’s long-standing training ground record for the 40 meter sprint. From that moment forward, I knew that Bellerin had the potential to be something special. Few players can command that kind of speed and, as an Arsenal fan, I salivated at the prospect of having him bombard down the sidelines, overlapping the likes of Ozil, Sanchez and Chamberlain, flinging a cross into Olivier Giroud or Danny Welbeck.
As you can imagine, my excitement only increased when news recently broke that young Hector’s 40 meter split time was faster than that of none other than Usain Bolt himself. Meaning, if the two were to take part in a 40 meter race, Bellerin would win. Granted, Bolt would probably burn Bellerin on the last 60 meters of the 100 meter dash he made his name in, but hey, winning that first 40 is nothing to laugh at. Again, I was stoked.
Then I found out that British Sprinter Richard Kilty hasn’t been amused by this “faster than Usain Bolt” nonsense at all, and that he has thrown down the gauntlet in the name of redeeming the pride of sprinters around the world. I feel like I am watching a Hollywood script play out in real life.
Kilty has officially — well, on Twitter at least — challenged Hector Bellerin and Theo Walcott to a race, and has put £30,000 of his own money down on the outcome.
I will put £30,000 on the line to race @HectorBellerin & @theowalcott any sprint distance, any time, any place, anywhere
— Richard Kilty (@RKilty1) April 14, 2015
Can we get this on international TV? This sounds like the race of a lifetime; Pay-Per-View gold. Let’s make this happen.