After watching his NFL dream get cut short in 2013, former Lions running back Jahvid Best moved on to another dream. On Saturday, he fulfilled it: The 2010 first-round draft pick is headed to Rio.
Best has been approved to run the 100-meter dash for St. Lucia at the Olympics in August, according to NBC Sports. The small island in the Caribbean Sea has only been sending athletes to the Olympics since 1996.
The former Lions running back is able to run for the tiny country because that's where his dad was born. To this day, Best's dad still holds a dual citizenship.
Best, 27, had been petitioning to make the team since May.
"I just want to bring pride to Saint Lucia, to the Olympic team, to the sport of athletics," Best told St. Lucia News in May. "I want to carry the flag around the track and make my family and country proud. I will be seeking a place on the team, representing my country would mean a lot to me, and to my family."
Earning an Olympic spot in any country isn't easy. To make it on St Lucia's track team, Best had to run an Olympic qualifying time of 10.16 seconds or lower in the 100m.
The former Lions running back accomplished that in April, when he ran 10.16 on the dot at the Arnie Robinson Invitational in San Diego.
Best has been training in Phoenix ever since he officially retired from the NFL in 2013. The running back was forced into early retirement after he suffered two concussions in Detroit.
After the Lions made him the 30th-overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, Best only played two seasons. In 2011, Best suffered a concussion late in the season and was never able to gain medical clearance to play after that. The Lions were so hopeful that Best would recover that they held on to him until July 2013, even though he didn't play a single snap in 2012.
The former first-round pick finished his NFL career with 945 rushing yards and six touchdowns in 22 games with the Lions. The dual threat also caught 85 passes for 774 yards and three touchdowns during his two seasons in Detroit.
