Tottenham Hotspur defender Micky van de Ven set a Premier League speed record against Brentford that got many debating about whether he is truly faster than Usain Bolt!
The Dutch defender has proven to be an impressive signing for Tottenham, slotting into their backline with ease and bringing some much-needed pace to the defence too.
Even though Van de Ven has been humble enough to recently admit that left-back Destiny Udogie was actually the fastest player in the Spurs squad, the statistics appear to be saying something different altogether.
Micky Van de Ven Matches Usain Bolt Speed Feat
In Spurs’ 3-2 win over Brentford recently, Van de Ven ‘sprinted his way’ to the Premier League record books. The centre-back was recorded to have achieved a top sprinting speed of 37.38 km/h – a record since data on such feats started being recorded from the 2020/21 season.
Van de Van was able to record a pace that is equivalent of 10.38m per second or 23.23 miles per hour. No other Premier League player has been able to match this kind of sprinting pace in the league’s history (at least since data started being collected) and the previous record was held by Manchester City captain Kyle Walker (37.31 km/h).
To bring Van de Ven’s feat to context, multi-time Olympic gold medal sprinter Usain Bolt had recorded an average speed of 10.44m per second or 23.35 mph when he set the 100-metre sprint record back in 2009.
Is Van De Ven Actually As Fast As Usain Bolt?
Van de Ven’s achievement is truly astounding and deserves a lot of applause. However, in terms of the comparison with Bolt – at least – some extra context needs to be put into place to settle the debate that he might actually be as fast as a legendary Olympic Sprinter.
Bolt had set the sprinting record by covering 100m in an incredible 9.58 seconds in Berlin back in 2009. The speed which he achieved (23.35 mph) was measured on the basis of the whole 100-metre run including the standing start. On the other hand, Van de Ven’s burst of speed is measured from a 10-metre burst from full speed and not a standing start like the Olympian.
As a matter of fact, Bolt had actually achieved an even quicker speed in the 2008 Beijing Olympics during the 9.62 seconds finish he managed in a 100m sprint – where his average speed was 27.28mph. Van de Ven might not be exactly as fast as Bolt, but he should take a lot of pride in the Premier League record set.
Moreover, the record might also be a warning for any Premier League forward to not dare go into a short sprint contest with the Spurs centre-back because as it seems, the Dutchman is primed to win it on the majority of occasions.
