#SPEEDMAFIA SPEED ASSASSIN FEATURE
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Casey Combest: The bluegrass AnomalyHillbilly. Skinny little white guy. Casey Combest' appearance was his sprint attack gambit before the gun went off. At 5'7 and 135 lbs soaking wet, Combest looked like he belonged in the 90's flick "American History X." Behind that starting line he may have been mistakable for an eighth grade cross country runner, but one thing is for sure, the man was fast. Ben Johnson was famously quoted in Speed Trap saying, "Gun go off, race be ova!" I am sure Ben would've been impressed with Combest' breathtaking start.
"MY LIFE IS SIMPLE. ALL I WANT IS TO BE FAST." |
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Combest, now 35, honed his start in his mother's apartment hallway in their Owensboro, KY home back in the late 90's. Taking up to 30 starts a night, Combest became a natural at launching his frame out of the blocks. He was an anomaly to say the least. He didn't lift weights, trained on a cement track and fell asleep listing to a starters pistol on a cassette. After breaking the USA National Indoor 60 meter dash record with a time of 6.57 seconds, Combest grabbed the attention of sprint legends Leroy Burrell, Mel Rosen, and John Smith. Burrell would go on to call Casey's start "fundamentally perfect". His performance and raw potential led him to signing with the University of Kentucky. However, a lack of academic interest and run ins with the law slowed his progress as he disappeared into the millennium.
Combest later resurfaced in a 2008 comeback attempt, posting a 6.27 seconds, 55 meter dash time before pulling a hamstring and sidelining him indefinitely. Casey Combest was a freak of nature. What could've been? Shot of a cannon, he was gone in 6.57 seconds. |
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