Tyreek Hill: From Super Bowl to Olympic sprinter?
The Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver has revealed his ambition to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, but time is against him.
Athletics
Tyreek Hill was born to run fast.
The 25-year-old is best known for doing this as a National Football League wide receiver for the Kansas City Chiefs, who he will represent at Super Bowl LIV.
But Hill has revealed that he wishes to display his speed on another of the world's biggest sporting stages too: The Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
“Hopefully after this [football] season, if I’m healthy and my mind is still in the right place, I really want to try to qualify for some Olympic teams,” the former West Alabama college star told Pro Football Talk.
Fine track & field pedigree
Hill's speed is a major weapon in the Chiefs' offense. Opposition defenses tend to double-mark him, meaning spaces open up in the middle of the field. But does he have the right experience to be successful on the track?
As it turns out, yes he does.
The Georgia-raised star is no stranger to athletics spikes, having finished third in the 200m at the 2012 World Junior Championships.
However, Hill hasn't competed on the track since the 2014 indoor season, and was carrying a lot less timber back in 2012.
“I weigh like 195lbs [88kg] right now. Back in high school, when I ran a 9.9 [second 100-meter dash], I was like 175lbs [79kg]. So it would be me changing my whole diet that I’ve been doing to get to where I am now,” Hill to Pro Football Talk.
In the same year that he quit athletics (2014), Hill was sentenced to three years of probation after pleading guilty to domestic assault and battery to his pregnant girlfriend.
Nate Ebner paves the way for Tyreek Hill
Hill's proposed switch, although a significant change, would not be the first of its kind.
Before the Rio 2016 Olympics, Nate Ebner was granted a sabbatical from the New England Patriots in order to represent Team USA at rugby sevens.
But while Ebner has won a Super Bowl, no individual has won a Lombardi Trophy and an Olympic gold medal... yet.
Another obstacle Hill may face in making the United States' Olympic team comes in the shape of Carlin Isles.
The USA rugby sevens player and former Detroit Lions trialist sometimes trains with 100m Olympic gold medallist Justin Gatlin, and is also considering a run at his nation's track & field team for Tokyo.
Hill's compatriot Christian Coleman is considered one of the 100m favourites for the Olympics in Japan, and was part of the 2017 NFL Draft scouting combine.
The United States Olympic Team Trials for track & field tack place in Eugene, Oregon, 19-28 June.