Being the top running back in the NFL isn’t enough for Adrian Peterson. The Minnesota Vikings’ all-time leading rusher says he aspires to one day compete in the Olympics as a sprinter.
During an interview with Graham Bensinger on “In Depth,” Peterson revealed his goal to compete in the 2016 Olympics. In fact, All Day says he wanted to run in the 2012 Olympics, but his knee injury derailed those plans.
“Before I tore my ACL, I was going to go to a couple of track meets and run unattached and just see where I was at, get some meets under my belt or whatnot, but unfortunately, I hurt my knee. Now that I’m back and refreshed, I think I’m going to give it a shot still,” Peterson told Bensinger.
“I told myself, hey, I want to try out for the Olympics for the 200 and the 400. That’s something that – that’s a goal of mine that I want to accomplish.”
Peterson says he ran track in high school and had success despite not having very good instruction from coaches. He wonders how he would stack up in the right environment. He’s not even intimidated by the thought of competing against Usain Bolt, who is the world record holder in the 100 and 200-meters.
“I feel like I can stand up to any challenge,” Peterson said. “I know a lot of people laugh and be like ‘come on, let’s be real with yourself.’ It’s Usain Bolt, but I feel like you can accomplish anything you put your mind to.”
After watching him burst through holes and outrun opposing players throughout his career, I have to say that I would be intrigued to see how Peterson would do as a sprinter. His dreams are not too far-fetched; Patriots running back Jeff Demps was a silver medalist on the US’ 4 x 100 meter relay team at the London Games. Peterson might not be the fastest player in the league, but one thing we have learned — especially after this season — is that we should never underestimate him.
Helmet smack to Pro Football Talk
