Rugby ace who raced a cheetah
CAPABLE of accelerating from 0 to 60mph in only three seconds, the cheetah is the world’s fastest land mammal — and can leave many sports cars in the dust.
So what happened when one of the most high-profile sport stars in the world — a fellow inhabitant of South Africa — tried his luck in a 100-metre race against the socalled Ferrari of the animal world?
Springbok rugby star Bryan Habana became famous for his incredible acceleration on the field, scoring eight tries on the wing during South Africa’s 2007 Rugby World Cup triumph.
A few months before that tournament, Habana, then 23 and able to run 100 metres in 10.4 seconds (a top speed of nearly 22mph) was chosen to race a cheetah by the De Wildt Cheetah and Wildlife Trust to raise awareness of the decline in the cats’ numbers, because of loss of their natural habitat. His opponent was a two-and-a-halfyear-old female named Cetane.
Orphaned at birth after poachers killed her mother, she was tame — but, like all of her species, could hit a top speed of 70 mph. Habana was given a 30-metre headstart to make it as competitive a race as possible. An 8 lb leg of lamb was tied to the end of a long string to be pulled during the race, with the hope that Cetane would chase it.
And the outcome? The rugby player, knees pumping and breathing hard led the race with a few metres to go. But as Habana neared the finish line, a blur of spotted fur whizzed past him into the lead just in time.
Desperate to get his revenge, Habana asked for an instant rematch, but this time Cetane beat him by a full length.
The sportsman took defeat philosophically. ‘I guess I was very happy to see the cheetah pass me, because then I knew she wasn’t looking at my rump,’ he said afterwards.
Cheetahs usually reserve their speed for sprinting after quarry such as gazelles and impalas. It costs them a huge amount of energy, and they can only maintain high speeds for 300 to 400 metres. So perhaps Bryan should have raced over 800 metres!
RESULT: Cheetah won.