There are plenty of former track stars in the NFL, but not many who can say they once beat Olympics legend Usain Bolt in a race.
Panthers wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. can — sort of.
Via David Newton of ESPN.com, Ginn was once a member of a 4x100 meter relay team which beat a team which included the fastest man in the world.
“He was the anchor, and I was the second leg,” Ginn said of Bolt. “I opened up and gave us that lead that he couldn’t get back. So, you know, man, I’ve done run against the best of the best.
“I’m proud of my track career. If I wasn’t going on the route I am as far as football, then I’d have some regrets about track, but I don’t.”
Ginn’s still fast, but he has no illusions of being able to run against Bolt now, or any other Olympian who has trained for their events. But he was once a top track prospect, who excelled in the sprints and the hurdles. Football found him, and made him a first-round pick. And he’s outlasted many of the guys he was drafted with in 2007, despite some hands that must have made him a risk when it came time to pass the baton.
“Just watching it on TV right now, I kind of get goosebumps on certain races,” Ginn said. “That gives me goosebumps, because a lot of them guys are No. 1 guys we raced in high school. . . .
“If I trained two or three months on the hurdles, I could run them. But as far as training in the 100, 200 and 400, I’m kind of out of the picture right now.”
The Panthers are glad he’s with them, as they’ve been the one team to bring out his potential as an offensive player. He caught 10 touchdowns last season, averaging 15.4 and 16.8 yards per catch in his two seasons with them, the best such numbers of his career. That keeps him from feeling regrets, and he can watch Bolt race in the Olympics and know that once upon a time, they raced and he came out ahead.
