In news that makes you scratch your head and go “what?”—Kevin Hart tore his lower abdomen and is in a wheelchair for the next 6-8 weeks after attempting to beat his friend, former New England Patriots running back Stevan Ridley, in a 40-yard dash.
The 44-year-old comedian and actor posted a video from his wheelchair to tell his fans what went down before Ridley could beat him to it, shaking his head and lamenting his decision to engage in a high speed footrace at his age.
“Yeah, I’m in a wheelchair,” he said. “Why? Well, because I’m trying to jump out there and do some young stuff.”
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Hart and Ridley got into a debate about who was faster—“Those that know me know I’m pretty fast,” he said, but Ridley assured his friend there was no way he was going to win. So they decided to test the theory and race each other for 40 yards. Ridley is not only a former NFL player with years of training under his belt. He also ran track in high school, earning personal bests of 11.25 seconds in the 100 meters and 23.42 seconds in the 200 meters.
The race did not go well for Hart, obviously. He tore his lower abdomen with the all-out sprint effort. “My abductors are torn,” he said. “I don’t even know what that is, but I tore them. I tore those two. I can’t walk.”
He ended the video on a humorous but dismal note, calling himself stupid for even attempting the feat against a 34-year-old former professional athlete. “What are we competing for at this age? Like what am I doing? Why did I even race?”
We wish Hart a speedy recovery, but respectfully disagree that he’s “the stupidest man alive” for trying to reach top speed over the age of 40. He probably just didn’t warm up properly. He may not have won against Ridley, but with some high-intensity sprinting drills to wake the body up for explosive movements, like a focused ignition series and some accelerations and buildups, Hart may not have left the track in a wheelchair. You can absolutely still run fast and do great things after 40.
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Abby Carney is a writer and journalist in New York. A former D1 college runner and current amateur track athlete, she’s written about culture and characters in running and outdoor sports for Runner’s World, Like the Wind Magazine, The New York Times, and other outlets. She also writes about things that have nothing to do with running, and was previously the editor of a food magazine.
