Lachlan Turner in the Gatorade Bolt Fastest Footballer in Australia race

Wallaby back Lachlan Turner took part in a novelty 100 metre race on Wednesday night in Sydney as Usain Bolt and sponsors set out to determine who the fastest man in Australian footy is, with athletes from Union, League, and Soccer all lining up.

If you don’t know the result yet, skip to the video now, otherwise read more about the event and what the winning athlete had to say.

It’s been 10 years since the Sydney Olmpics, so to commemorate the event and promote his new drink, Usain Bolt is on a tour of Australia, with this race between rival codes being much publicised.

While two AFL (Aussie Rules) flyers were unfortunately ruled out due to sponsorship conflicts, the field was made up mainly of League players, but had two Union representatives in Lachlan Turner and Eastwood club teammate, John Grant.

Turner ended up coming up trumps while running into a slight headwind, taking the win with a time of 11.10s, while Grant followed shortly behind him at 11.15s, and League star Jarryd Hayne came third with 11.20s. Greg Inglis came in last at 12:48s.

"It was a bit of a surprise win," triumphant Turner said. "I thought both Jarryd and John had me about the 60 metre mark, but I'm just happy to have got to the line first. I almost fell over and tried to kill myself trying to get there. I hit the guy next to me, but it turned out all good," he added.

Prize money of A$20 000 went to number one placed Turner, while bragging rights were perhaps the biggest prize. He surprisingly said he’d done no training for the event, picking up a pair of running spikes just a day before.

"I only got the spikes last night, that's how unprepared I was. It's also been a while since I last raced on the track,” Turner said. "I was hoping to go under 11 (seconds), but I'll definitely take it. The time is a personal best for me timed electrically. I'm pretty happy.

"The last two weeks have been incredible. Being in South Africa (with the Wallabies), diving with sharks. The win in Bloemfontein and then coming back here and preparing for my first Test match in a year, and then tonight. Even yesterday, I was rally car driving with Mazda, it's just been a crazy couple of weeks," he added.

There has already been talk of Turner having to defend his crown, with another race being planned before the end of the year whereby the missing AFL players will compete, as well as one or two other possibles.

This type of format would be great to see in other big rugby countries, although it’s debatable whether it should be over 40m or 100m. Who would you pick to take part in your country?


Time: 04:42

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