Willie Gault is 55, and he’s still fast.
The former Bears wide receiver set world records for men 55 and over in the 100-meter dash (11.3 seconds) and 200-meter dash (23.24) at the Oxy Invite in Los Angeles last weekend.
Gault now has a USA Track & Field Athlete of the Week honor to go with the Super Bowl ring he earned with the 1985 Bears. Gault caught 33 passes that year and was second in the NFL with 21.3 yards per reception. He also returned 22 kickoffs for 577 yards, including a 99-yard touchdown.
In Super Bowl XX, Gault caught four passes for 129 yards. The Patriots did actually have a lead in that game, but Jim McMahon’s first completion was a 43-yarder to Gault that helped set up a field goal that tied it 3-3. From that point on, the Bears lapped the field to put it in track terms and won 46-10.
Gault played 11 seasons in the NFL, the last six with the Raiders.
Before coming to the NFL, Gault was a 1980 Summer Olympian, but the U.S. boycotted the Moscow Games. He was part of a 4-x-100-meter world record relay team in 1983 that also included Carl Lewis.
Gault came to the NFL with a long track resumé, and it keeps getting longer.
