# If Usain Bolt ran onto a field, how long for security to tackle him? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [June 14, 2017, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-usain-bolt-ran-onto-a-field-how-long-for-security-to-tackle-him/788962 "2017-06-14T18:12:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-usain-bolt-ran-onto-a-field-how-long-for-security-to-tackle-him/788962/21 "2017-06-21T02:59:24Z")
In practice it often takes a lot of guys, just because they are not trained or coordinated in any way\*, and end up bunching up and all following. I think if even just 3 people are coming at him from suitably separate directions, with emphasis on directions that move him away from the center, he’ll only dodge the net a handful of times before someone gets a hand on him. - They might be trained for situations like covering multiple exits from a confined area, but corralling someone in an open area is not really something worth training for. There’s only going to be one result. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-usain-bolt-ran-onto-a-field-how-long-for-security-to-tackle-him/788962/22 "2017-06-21T11:59:49Z")
Move this from a field to a mall, and give the two mall cops Segways. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-usain-bolt-ran-onto-a-field-how-long-for-security-to-tackle-him/788962/23 "2017-06-21T12:07:38Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Move this from a field to a mall, and give the two mall cops Segways. Segways top out at 12 mph or so. Bolt tops out at 26-27 mph. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-usain-bolt-ran-onto-a-field-how-long-for-security-to-tackle-him/788962/24 "2017-06-21T12:19:45Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Segways top out at 12 mph or so. Bolt tops out at 26-27 mph. But mall cops have spunk. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-usain-bolt-ran-onto-a-field-how-long-for-security-to-tackle-him/788962/25 "2017-06-21T12:23:00Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > But mall cops have spunk. Eeeew. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-usain-bolt-ran-onto-a-field-how-long-for-security-to-tackle-him/788962/26 "2017-06-21T12:35:38Z")
You hate spunk? ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-usain-bolt-ran-onto-a-field-how-long-for-security-to-tackle-him/788962/27 "2017-06-21T14:30:49Z")
> [@Anglachel](#): > > We know Bolt is fast, but we can only guess at his agility. Bolt was a very accomplished junior soccer player, so he’s got some dodging skills. Bolt actually preferred cricket and soccer as a kid. Two ordinary men would have no chance of catching him unless he tripped or something. If you had five or six men, **and they coordinated themselves right,** well, that’s something else entirely. ---
**Author:** ![snoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@snoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snoe)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-usain-bolt-ran-onto-a-field-how-long-for-security-to-tackle-him/788962/28 "2017-06-21T16:12:11Z")
> [@Lantern](#): > > This actually sounds like a fun premise for a game show. A team of 4-5 contestants have to tackle a decent 100m sprinter. It would be interesting to see how the different strategies work. I had an elementary-school classmate named Matt who was pretty fast and extremely agile. (And kinda short; I think a big part of his agility came from his low center of gravity, a la Lionel Messi.) So we had a recess game we’d play on the grass where 8-12 boys would chase Matt and try to trip him. Like the geniuses we were, we called the game “Trip Matt.” If you tripped him, you got to “be Matt,” but as I recall he almost always made it all the way through recess on his feet. I wonder how much more successful we would’ve been if we didn’t have to stick to using our feet/legs. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-usain-bolt-ran-onto-a-field-how-long-for-security-to-tackle-him/788962.md?page=1)