Former Lions RB Jahvid Best outed in first round of 100M event at Rio Olympics

When Detroit Lions running back Jahvid Best saw his football career cut short by a string of concussions, he was presumed to be out of the athletic spotlight for the rest of his life. Fortunately, Best found another way to use his physical gifts. Since leaving football in 2012, Best has slowly been building a career in track and field. That success has culminated in an appearance in the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics.

Best qualified to enter the olympics through his father’s home country of Saint Lucia. He became the only former NFL athlete to qualify for the Summer Olympics. Current New England Patriots safety Nate Ebner joined him in Rio, as part of the American rugby team.

In the first round of the men’s 100M event, Jahvid Best took the stage. As part of Heat 7 — lined up alongside Usain Bolt — Best failed to qualify for the next round, finishing seventh out of nine racers with a time of 10.39 seconds. Bolt finished first with a time of 10.07. The top two racers in each heat automatically qualify.

Though his Olympic career has come to an end for this year’s Olympics, hopefully this isn’t the end of Best’s track and field career. He has a natural talent for speed, and it would be a shame to see that come to an end.