Best will represent Saint Lucia in the 2016 Summer Olympic Games

Jahvid Best Set To Compete In Summer Olympics

Best Will Be First Ex-NFL Player To Compete In Summer Olympics

7/16/2016 3:36 PM | By: Cal Athletics

BERKELEY – Former California and NFL running back Jahvid Best will represent Saint Lucia and compete on its track & field team in the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. Best, who played for the Golden Bears from 2007-09 and the NFL's Detroit Lions from 2010-13, will become the first person with previous NFL experience to compete in the Summer Olympics.

Best, who has a Saint Lucian father and holds dual citizenship, appeared on the Olympic radar after he ran a personal-best 10.16 seconds in the 100m at a small meet in California.

A 2010 first-round NFL Draft pick, Best played for the Lions from 2010-11 before having to sit out the following two seasons and eventually retire prematurely due to multiple concussions. He enjoyed a successful three-year career at Cal, being named a first-team All-Pac-12 selection from 2007-08 and a second-team pick in 2009. Best holds the school single-game record for rushing yards (311, vs. Washington in 2008) and the modern-era record for touchdowns (5, at Minnesota in 2009).

A two-sport athlete while at Salesian High School in Richmond, Calif., Best won a gold medal in the 200m at the 2005 USTAF Junior Olympics, and he won the 2007 California State Championship in the 100m with a time of 10.31 and also finished second in the 200m at 20.65.
 

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