In case you haven't paid attention, South Carolina football wide receiver Nyck Harbor is really fast. The freaky athletic Harbor is 6'5" and 240 pounds but has a realistic Olympic dream as a sprinter. The dream is so realistic, in fact, that the Washington DC native is seeking to qualify for the Olympics in Paris, France this summer.
As part of his training for qualifying, Harbor has been running track with the South Carolina track and field team. After joining the team in January, the speedster has already been putting his name into prominent places in the South Carolina Gamecocks record books.
Last weekend, Harbor ran the 8th-fastest time 200-meter time in the history of Carolina track and field with a 20.86, and this week, he proved he has enough burst to own the track on the shorter races, as well.
In a meet this weekend at Clemson, Harbor ran a 6.61 60-meter. That time is the best he has ever run at any point in his life, and it is the 2nd-fastest 60-meter performance in the history of the USC track program. It was also the 12-fastest time of any NCAA runner this year.
Harbor will be spending this spring working part-time with the South Carolina football team as he runs track and preps for a run at the Olympic Games. He will rejoin the team in a full-time capacity this summer. If he qualifies for the Olympics, he will be back after the Games end; if he fails to qualify this time around, he will be with the Gridiron Gamecocks once he finishes the track season and qualifying efforts.
Harbor was not a major impact player in 2023 as it was his first year being a full-time wide receiver. He got more and more comfortable at the position as the season went along, however, and he could be poised for a much bigger role in 2024 if things go well for him.