Concussions ended his promising NFL career, so he became an Olympian instead
For those who remember Jahvid Best as a Heisman Trophy contender at Cal and a rookie sensation for the Detroit Lions, this summer brought inspiring news.
Best will compete for Saint Lucia, a tiny Caribbean nation with a population of just 163,000. Best's father is a dual citizen of both the United States and Saint Lucia, according to NBC, which apparently makes Best eligible to represent the island nation in the Olympics.But Best's path to Olympic qualification is another story full of twists, turns and caveats. On April 2, Best registered a time of 10.16 seconds in the 100-meters at what NBC called "a small meet in California."His time of 10.16 met the minimum Olympic-qualifying standard, according to NBC. It was his best-ever showing in the 100-meters and was achieved with a tailwind that fell just below the maximum allowed. In other words, it was the best sprint of his life and nearly didn't count for Olympic qualification.And that's not even all.While it met the Olympic minimum, Best's time of 10.16 seconds wouldn't have been enough to make the U.S Olympic team — with a population of 320 million people, there are a lot of fast humans to choose from. But ah, Saint Lucia! Different story.Like we mentioned earlier, its population is just 163,000 — a tiny fraction of a single percent of the U.S. population. According to NBC, Saint Lucia has never medalled at an Olympics and has never sent a delegation of more than six athletes to compete.Point being: 10.16 seconds gets you a lot more in Saint Lucia than it does in the United States. But with such a small history in the Games, Saint Lucia was likely happy to add a sprinter of Best's caliber.
Full Story: http://mashable.com/...s/#JyCOOAKOoqqf
Edited by I still miss OTR, July 28, 2016 - 06:11 AM.
