There is Cameron speed. And then there is Bolt speed.

Crow Charlie Cameron likes to dash away from AFL opponents but his maximum speed of about 35km/h - that's quick - is about 10km/h below the top speed reached by Jamaica’s Bolt during the 100m final.

Bolt, who ran the 100m in 9:81 this week, averaged 36.7km/h across the race with a top speed of about 44.5km/h.

Top end speed doesn’t necessarily convert to 100m brilliance but even if Cameron was able to sprint the entire 100m at 35hm/h he would ‘only’ finish in 10:3 seconds - the same as Jesse Owens ran to win in Berlin in 1936 - and about six metres behind Bolt.

If this time was changed to a more realistic 11.5 to 12 seconds, it would result in Cameron being 17 to 20 metres behind when Bolt crossed the line.

Bolt accelerates until about the 60m mark before hitting top speed and his competitive edge is being able to maintain a higher speed for longer than most rivals, even if he is a little slower in the first 20 metres.

The women’s marathon times also provide another perspective.

Not many AFL players can run better than 9:30 minutes for 3km trials. But even if they were able to maintain this speed for a full marathon, they would finish in about 2:32:00 - 30 seconds slower than South Australia’s Jess Trengove recorded in Rio.