Sol Campbell bemusingly appeared to suggest he was as fast as Usain Bolt during his Arsenal prime in a bizarre early-morning social media post. Campbell was an excellent centre-back for England, Arsenal and Tottenham, known for his tough tackling and leadership skills.
But the former defender has now dragged up data from the late 2000s to back up his wild claim that he was as quick as the world’s fastest runner. Campbell took to social media to share an image of a newspaper cutting showing top speeds among Premier League players between the 2007-08 and 2008-09 campaigns.
The data, produced by Castrol Football Index, shows that Campbell was the second-fastest player in that period, behind Arsenal team-mate Theo Walcott. Campbell is shown to have hit a top speed of 22.5 miles-per-hour.
His Instagram caption, penned at just past 2 AM, read: “Bolt hit a top speed of 24.04mph. You have to remember I did this speed [shown in the picture] when I was 34 YEARS OLD imagine the pace I could generate at the age of 23 my friends facts and figures #invincible @easportsfifa @uefa_official @fifaworldcup @permierleague @arsenal respect is due!”
Campbell’s claim about Bolt’s top speed is not correct. Wide-ranging sources claim that the Jamaican sprinter reached 27.8mph during his world-record, 9.58-second 100m final in Berlin in 2009.
Data from Campbell’s post shows that Walcott hit a top speed of 22.72mph – quick but still some way off Bolt. Didier Drogba, Fernando Torres, Nicolas Anelka, Cesc Fabregas and Ashley Cole complete the list for fastest players at the time.
A couple of former Premier League stars poked fun at Campbell’s claim. Manchester United icon Rio Ferdinand replied: “Sol, I’m sorry to kill your vibe but Cesc being on this list makes this bit of data null and void.
“Cesc’s game was brain, passing and angles, not speed – and Cesc would tell you that. You were quick through bro.”
Fellow former United defender Phil Neville referenced a dubious penalty Campbell conceded against the Red Devils, quipping: “Still give us a penalty at [Old Trafford] though Sol.”
Sylvain Distin joked that the speed clocked by Fabregas and Anelka – 22.05mph was the same. The ex-Everton ace questioned: “Cesc as fast as Anelka ?????? Really?????”
Campbell, who limits comments on his posts to only people he follows, later commented: “Nice to hear from all the guys on this, it’s great to know you are all real with no computer people writing for you thank god!”
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