Abbie Parr/Getty Images. Pictured: Seahawks WR D.K. Metcalf
This weekend Seattle Seahawks DK Metcalf will line up in a serious track and field race as NFL and racing fans debate whether he could possibly run fast enough to qualify for the Olympics.
Betting on whether he will or not at least is out of the question, at least for now.
State gaming control boards and departments of gaming enforcement haven’t yet approved operators to offer the odds, but there will still be plenty of interest in the race.
Metcalf, who ran a 4.33 40-yard dash at his combine in 2019 and was tracked at running 22.6 miles per hour when chasing down Arizona Cardinals safety Budda Baker last year, is competing in the 100 meter race at the USATF Golden Games and Distance Open in Walnut, Calif.
If Metcalf can run the 100 meter race in 10.05 seconds, he’ll automatically qualify for next month’s U.S. Olympic Trials. But track and field insiders we spoke to said it’s going to be really difficult for him to even make the finals of this event.
“He’ll have to run a 10.3 to get into the finals,” said one experienced race director. “I mean, D.K. Metcalf is football fast, but that doesn’t mean he’s Olympic fast.”
On Metcalf’s side is the fact that the two fastest 100 meter runners, Noah Lyles and Justin Gatlin aren’t competing against him. Lyles, whose best in the 100 meters in 9.86 seconds, is choosing to run the 200 meter instead.
Veteran Justin Gatlin, who ran a 9.74 in Doha in 2015, is taking part in an event in Tokyo this weekend.
On Wednesday, Track & Field media brand Flotrack, on its Instagram page, set Metcalf’s total at 10.35 seconds.
NFL Hall of Fame tight end Shannon Sharpe, who now is a broadcaster for Fox, responded with “OVA.”
American discus star Reggie Jagers predicted “10.55-65.” Kyle Clemons, who won the gold on the American 4×400 meter relay in Rio, predicted 10.77 seconds.
