Former Detroit Lions running back Jahvid Best has been submitted and approved for Saint Lucia’s Olympic track and field team and is set to become the first person with previous NFL experience to compete in a Summer Games.
Best, a former California high school sprinter with a Saint Lucian father who holds dual citizenship, was a 2010 first-round draft pick whose football career was cut short after two seasons due to concussions.
He has been doing sprint training at the Altis center in Arizona, home of many elite Olympic athletes, for at least one year.
[RELATED: Oregon track, football to be represented in Rio Olympics]
Best registered on the Olympic radar on April 2, when he ran a personal-best 10.16 seconds for the 100m with nearly the maximum allowable legal tailwind (1.9 meters/second) at a small meet in California.
That met the Olympic qualifying standard of 10.16 seconds or faster (on the dot), but the IAAF must also recognize the results as official.
It's official: Jahvid Best is going to the Olympics in track & field for St. Lucia. pic.twitter.com/RRNfixyvuG
— Cal Football (@CalFootball) July 16, 2016
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