5 male sprinters besides Usain Bolt who deserve to be in the GOAT conversation

#4 Bob Hayes

Bob Hayes (far right) wins the 1964 Olympics 100m Final

"Bullet" Bob Hayes might be less of a track star and more of a track meteor. He burst on to the scene, flared brightly, and was gone in the blink of an eye.

At age 21, Hayes had already retired from track to pursue a career in American football. He did so shortly after having taken part in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, where he won the 100m dash and anchored the winning 4x100m in WR times.

His 100m dash victory is considered particularly memorable because Hayes started in the highly damaged innermost lane and still managed to pull away from the rest of the field. As if annihilating his opponents wasn't enough, he also finished the race in a whopping 10.06-seconds on a roughed up cinder track.

Similarly, while anchoring the 4x100m relay team, Hayes ran a blistering sub-9-second leg to ensure a gold medal for his team even though all seemed lost.

Not only was Hayes a mind-bendingly fast sprinter, he also went on to have a successful career as a wide receiver, culminating in a Superbowl win in 1971. This makes him the only person in history to have won both an Olympic gold medal and a Superbowl ring.