Dinh Bac's shocking speed falls just 0.01 seconds short of the 'elite' standard in Europe.

Dinh Bac is a very special case in Vietnamese football - Photo: AFC

Dinh Bac stunned the statistics team.

Specifically, according to Tuoi Tre newspaper , during a speed test with the Vietnam U20 team in mid-2022, Dinh Bac (who was not yet 18 years old at the time) sprinted 10 meters in just 1.51 seconds.

It's important to clarify that this refers to the first 10 meters of running, meaning the player hasn't yet reached their maximum speed.

Sports science expert Le Cao Cuong, who was then serving as the fitness coach for Vietnam's national youth football teams, said the team was completely "stunned" by Dinh Bac 's incredible statistics .

That was the first 10m sprint, while Dinh Bac's speed in the first 30m sprint (considered the standard distance for a sprint on the football field) was only 3.78 seconds - meaning he was running at a speed of 28.6 km/h when he started the sprint.

"It's important to know that this is not the maximum speed of Dinh Bac, as this is calculated from the start of the run. The maximum speed of Dinh Bac is around 33-35 km/h," said Mr. Le Cao Cuong.

For comparison, five years ago, Major League Soccer recorded the fastest 30-meter sprint as belonging to Khiry Shelton, with a time of 3.81 seconds, which was still 0.03 seconds slower than Dinh Bac.

Data from the Premier League shows that the average 30m sprint speed (at the start) of players in the league is around 4 seconds, with the fastest runners like Van De Ven (Tottenham) or Adama Traore able to reach top speeds of 36-37km/h during their 30m sprint.

Another survey by the Japanese Championship (J-League) showed that the 30m sprint speeds of elite players in the league ranged from 3.7 seconds to 4.2 seconds.

With his achievements at the age of 18, Dinh Bac could be considered among the fastest runners in Japan, faster than the fastest sprinter in the US, and slightly faster than the average in the Premier League.

Does Dinh Bac run alongside Usain Bolt?

Mr. Le Cao Cuong stated that the aforementioned statistics in major tournaments are average figures, while the statistics achieved by Dinh Bac are outlier data, meaning, in simpler terms, a breakthrough achievement of his on a good day.

Dinh Bac (right) was notable for his incredible running speed from a very young age - Archival photo

"It should be clarified that Usain Bolt's first 30m sprint time when he set the all-time sprint record was only 3.78 seconds, the same as Dinh Bac's."

"But the difference is that Bolt started from the pedals, while Dinh Bac tested from the timing gate, having started 0.5m before the laser beam. That means Bolt hadn't reached his maximum speed yet," said Mr. Le Cao Cuong.

Also in this test, Khuat Van Khang - who also possesses extremely high speed and a smart, persistent playing style - ran the 30m in 3.94 seconds, slightly slower than Dinh Bac.

The aforementioned statistics were tested when Dinh Bac was still in his prime. Now, having undergone top-level training, he can even perform more terrifying breakthroughs.

And remember, this player was only 1.5 meters tall at 14, with delayed puberty almost costing him the chance to play football. Dinh Bac is truly a very special case in Vietnamese football.

According to the statistics website Statsport, they rank sprinting ability in European football into three categories.

Accordingly, players who sprint the first 10 meters in 1.5 seconds or less are classified as "elite". Times between 1.5 and 1.7 seconds are considered "good", and times between 1.7 and 2 seconds are "average". Anyone who takes longer than 2 seconds to sprint the 10 meters is considered slow.

As can be seen, Dinh Bac was only 0.01 seconds short of the top score.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/toc-do-gay-soc-cua-dinh-bac-kem-chuan-uu-tu-o-chau-au-0-01-giay-20260118194348152.htm#content-1