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Usain Bolt, who is the fastest man of all time, averaged a ground speed of 37.58km/h when he set the 100m world record, while the Harambee Stars defender clocked a top speed of upto 36km/h for Genk last season.
Harambee Stars defender Joseph Okumu thinks he is ‘blessed’ after it was revealed that the towering defender can clock speed of up to 36 km/h when helping his side defend.
That speed is just 1.58 km/h behind Usain Bolt’s when he set the World 100m record of 9.58 seconds at the World Athletics Championships held in Berlin in 2009, underpinning how fast Okumu also is.
The towering defender has continued going from strength to strength ever since his breakthrough move to Sweden’s IF Elfsborg, which earned him a move to Belgian giants Genk, where he clocked that speed in one of the side’s matches in the Jupiler Pro League.
The 26-year-old was also instrumental in helping the Belgian outfit reach the quarter finals of the UEFA Conference League where they were knocked out by a Declan Rice-inspired West Ham in the quarter finals earlier this year.
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07:33 - 17.10.2023
STARS ABROAD Joseph Okumu’s value increases by more than double thanks to Ligue 1 switch
Joseph Okumu’s value has skyrocketed following his transfer from Belgian side KAA Gent to French side Reims.
This earned him a move to Will Still’s Stade Reims, where his speed has helped the side play with a more aggressive high line knowing that his pace can help him defend large spaces in case they turn over the ball.
Quizzed by a French journalist as to whether he practiced on getting faster, Okumu made a stuttering claim, saying that his quality is God-given.
“I think I am blessed,” Okumu said, “I can’t really say that I really tend to work and target the high speed,” he added.“It just happens, so I think I am blessed.”
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08:04 - 07.10.2023
STARS ABROAD Joseph Okumu’s coach explains reasons behind Stade Reims’ brilliant start to Ligue 1 season
Joseph Okumu was one of four signings Stade Reims made this summer, and they have all played a key role in helping Reims start their Ligue 1 season off well under former ‘football manager’ guru Will Still
Okumu has taken to French football like a duck to water, admitting that the quality of the league is better than that of Belgium and Sweden, but he has embraced the challenge with both arms.
“It is an amazing league, quite intense and yeah, a lot of players with quality, so it is a good league to gauge your quality, how far you are ‘cause it has a lot of quality players.
“If you look at the steps, coming to Belgium as well, the quality as well and the structure of the league compared to other places, I think Belgium was a level a bit higher, but now in France, it is also a notch higher so, depending on the quality and structure of the league as well, it is a trajectory on the right path for me.”
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08:04 - 07.10.2023
STARS ABROAD Joseph Okumu reveals why he snubbed Arsenal & Borussia Dortmund for Stade de Reims
Harambee Stars defender Joseph Okumu has explained why he rejected offers from Premier League and Bundesliga clubs to sign for French side Stade de Reims
Former Harambee Stars captain Dennis Oliech spent 10 years plying his trade in France, but Okumu has admitted that he did not get to talk to him before going there.
“The only Kenyan I know is (Denis) Oliech and not really, I did not get a chance to talk to him before I came here.
Reims have had a great start to the season as they are fifth on the standings with 13 points from seven games, four behind leaders Monaco, and this has them dreaming of European football next season.
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