26 July 2023 , 16:35
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Thierry Henry has claimed he could never have been an Olympic sprinter - because he could not stay in lane.
Arsenal legend Henry clocked a remarkable 39.2km per hour - around 24.3mph- in a match in 1998 and that would make him competitive in a 100m race.
But despite expressing a huge love and admiration for athletics and the Olympic Games, the World Cup winner says he could never do anything but play football.
Henry has narrated a two-part documentary, La Vie Sportive, to be shown on Wednesday night on Eurosport to mark One Year to Go until Paris 2024.
Former France star Henry recently joked he would have happily out-sprinted Kyle Walker in his hey day and his speed was comparable with Usain Bolt who clocked an average of 37.5km in one 100m victory but with a top speed of 44.7km/h.
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Henry said: “Not to make a joke, but you have to stay in your lane. I could play football, it's different, you know. I had zero technique, I was running out of sheer power.
“Because those guys train, the technique, the way they come out of the starting block, the way they run, they count their steps. I never thought about it.
“People always used to ask me, how quick would you have been on a one on 100 metre dash? And I was like, I don't know. The most you're running in the game is 40 metres, 50 if you go on the counter. I have too much respect for those guys.
Henry was known for his blistering pace during his playing days“All I know is what I've done. I don't know what I would have done if I was going to be a sprinter. I don't even know if I can even say that at the end of the day. I know I played football. But no, I never thought about anything else other than playing football.”
The film also features extensive interviews including Henry’s World Cup and Euro winning teammates Emmanuel Petit and Marcel Desailly and tennis legends Mats Wilander and Yannick Noah plus record five-time Tour de France winner Eddy Merckx.
Henry enjoyed football’s greatest triumph in France in the 1998 World Cup and says he dreams it will be a similar story in Paris next year.
He added: “Paris has been able to go back up and breathe again. And see the light at the end of the tunnel. And I think that's very important. That's what the Olympic Games brings, it brings hope.
Henry is looking forward to the Olympics getting underway“And I think that's something that's very important that you can see that through the documentary because we always associate Paris with style, elegance, fashion, food.
“Resilience is not always something that comes and it comes through sports also. I think that's very important. And hopefully you can see that and it is going to be translated well in the documentary.”
The whole of the Olympics - including every minute of every sport - will be available on Eurosport and across the Warner Brothers platforms.
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Paris, La Vie Sportive, narrated by Thierry Henry, premieres on Eurosport 1 and discovery+ at 21:30 BST
Paris, La Vie Sportive recalls Paris’ historic and unique relationship with sport in the 100 years since it last hosted the Olympic Games in 1924 will premiere.