GAINESVILLE, Florida: The world’s tallest teenager is trying his hand — his reach, really — at football.
Florida basketball player Olivier Rioux, a 7-foot-9 center who played for the Under-19 Canadian national team this summer, recently worked out for the Gators’ football team.
Rioux donned an orange helmet and took snaps on special teams, with Florida assistant coaches hoping his massive wingspan might be a difference maker when it comes to blocking field goals and extra points.
“I like the idea,” Gators basketball coach Todd Golden said during a booster event Thursday evening. “I give them credit for trying it.”
There was one issue: The 305-pound Rioux has an 11-inch vertical, so even with his extra-long reach, he was unable to block any kicks during the workout.
“They were a little disappointed,” Golden said.
No worries. Rioux can simply stick to his full-time gig with the hoops team.
After redshirting as a true freshman last season, he’s expected to get on the court in limited capacity this fall. He’s unlikely to play much considering the defending national champions return their entire frontcourt, but he should at least get on the court in garbage time.
Golden already has considered using him to guard inbound passes, something Rioux did to perfection just before halftime against the United States in the FIBA U19 World Cup in Switzerland earlier this month. Rioux forced an errant pass that led to a turnover and a 3-pointer just before halftime.
Rioux’s unusual height landed him in the Guinness World Records a few years ago and he has become a walking viral video at Florida. While coaches and teammates climbed a ladder to cut pieces of the nets after the Gators won the Southeastern Conference Tournament, Rioux was able to do it while standing flat-footed.
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The world’s tallest teen, 7-foot-9 center Olivier Rioux, gives football a try at Florida
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The world’s tallest teen, 7-foot-9 center Olivier Rioux, gives football a try at Florida
- The Florida basketball player, who played for the Under-19 Canadian national team this summer, recently worked out for the Gators’ football team
- There was one issue: The 305-pound Rioux has an 11-inch vertical, so even with his extra-long reach, he was unable to block any kicks during the workout
Formula 1 champion Norris hungry for more glory
- The McLaren driver said that claiming the drivers’ crown had not changed his work ethic or his desire to be regarded a “hunter” rather than “the hunted“
MELBOURNE: Lando Norris said on Thursday that winning his first Formula One championship had only made him hungry for more as he gears up to launch his title defense at the Australian Grand Prix.
The McLaren driver said that claiming the drivers’ crown had not changed his work ethic or his desire to be regarded a “hunter” rather than “the hunted.”
“I’ve probably done the most training and things during the course of the off-season than I’ve ever done,” the Briton told reporters at Albert Park.
“So it’s certainly not the case that I was relaxing more or partying more or whatever it might have been. It was quite the opposite, in fact.
“No, I’m still just as hungry. I think it made me want it more, in a way, because you get that feeling.
“The same as when you have one win, you want another one in a race.
“For me, it was the same feeling as a championship; that one is amazing, but then you definitely want to achieve two.”
Norris won last year’s race from pole after arriving in Melbourne raving about the car’s performance during winter testing.
The constructors champions are less bullish about the MCL40 car’s off-season performance this year, with team boss Andrea Stella saying they were a step behind Ferrari and Mercedes.
Norris’s teammate Oscar Piastri, who led last year’s championship before finishing third, was similarly reserved about their early-season prospects, saying on Wednesday they should not be considered favorites to win in Melbourne.
Norris was more upbeat.
“Even if you’re second, third, or fourth quickest, I don’t think that’s on the back foot,” he said.
“I think that’s still a very good position to start in. And I think in previous years where it’s been harder to improve over the course of a season, we’ve certainly proved that you could.”
This year’s championship has plenty of unknowns due to F1’s major overhaul to chassis and engine regulations.
Ferrari’s seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton said drivers faced their most challenging season ever as they grappled with the power management demands of the more electrified engines.
Norris said he was still adapting to the changes and would probably continue to well into the season.
“(It will) probably (be) at least a third of the way through this year until we drive different tracks, different tires, different tarmacs, different weather conditions until I can get close to that level of accuracy that I was requiring last year,” he said.
The McLaren driver said that claiming the drivers’ crown had not changed his work ethic or his desire to be regarded a “hunter” rather than “the hunted.”
“I’ve probably done the most training and things during the course of the off-season than I’ve ever done,” the Briton told reporters at Albert Park.
“So it’s certainly not the case that I was relaxing more or partying more or whatever it might have been. It was quite the opposite, in fact.
“No, I’m still just as hungry. I think it made me want it more, in a way, because you get that feeling.
“The same as when you have one win, you want another one in a race.
“For me, it was the same feeling as a championship; that one is amazing, but then you definitely want to achieve two.”
Norris won last year’s race from pole after arriving in Melbourne raving about the car’s performance during winter testing.
The constructors champions are less bullish about the MCL40 car’s off-season performance this year, with team boss Andrea Stella saying they were a step behind Ferrari and Mercedes.
Norris’s teammate Oscar Piastri, who led last year’s championship before finishing third, was similarly reserved about their early-season prospects, saying on Wednesday they should not be considered favorites to win in Melbourne.
Norris was more upbeat.
“Even if you’re second, third, or fourth quickest, I don’t think that’s on the back foot,” he said.
“I think that’s still a very good position to start in. And I think in previous years where it’s been harder to improve over the course of a season, we’ve certainly proved that you could.”
This year’s championship has plenty of unknowns due to F1’s major overhaul to chassis and engine regulations.
Ferrari’s seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton said drivers faced their most challenging season ever as they grappled with the power management demands of the more electrified engines.
Norris said he was still adapting to the changes and would probably continue to well into the season.
“(It will) probably (be) at least a third of the way through this year until we drive different tracks, different tires, different tarmacs, different weather conditions until I can get close to that level of accuracy that I was requiring last year,” he said.
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