How fast is 80,000 meters per hour?
It's about as fast as a Gazelle
The speed of a Gazelle is about 70,000 meters per hour.
(for Thomson's Gazelle, a.k.a. Eudorcas thomsoni, a.k.a. "Tommie", a.k.a. "Tommy")
A Thomson's gazelle can reach speeds of up to 80,000 meters per hour. The gazelle's speed doesn't match that of its chief predator, the cheetah, but a gazelle's endurance usually ensures an escape in distances greater than 500 m (0.3 mi).
It's about as fast as a Hare
The speed of a Hare is about 70,000 meters per hour.
(for European Brown Hare, a.k.a. Brown Hare, a.k.a. Lepus europaeus, a.k.a. Brown Hare)
The European Hare can run at speeds of up to 70,000 meters per hour. While speed is a factor in their escapes, hares evade their chief predators — wolves, foxes, and golden eagles — by fleeing in a zigzag pattern.
It's about one-and-one-tenth times as fast as a Greyhound
The speed of a Greyhound is about 72,400 meters per hour.
(a.k.a. English greyhound) (approximate maximum speed)
Greyhounds reach average race speeds of 72,400 meters per hour. Despite their racing prowess, greyhounds are not considered energetic dogs — the typical greyhound race requires the dogs to run for less than 35 seconds.
It's about one-and-one-third times as fast as Secretariat
The speed of Secretariat is about 60,500 meters per hour.
(at Belmont Stakes, 1973)
Setting a record finish, Secretariat ran the Belmont Stakes — a 12 furlong race length — in 2:24, for an average speed of 60,400 meters per hour in 1973. His margin of victory in the race, also a record-setter, was 31 lengths.
It's about three-fourths as fast as a Knuckleball (baseball)
The speed of a Knuckleball (baseball) is about 110,000 meters per hour.
(a.k.a. knuckler, a.k.a. floater, a.k.a. dancer, a.k.a. butterfly ball) (major league average)
The average speed of major league knuckleball pitch is 110,000 meters per hour. Eddie Cicotte, who was later implicated in the 1919 Black Sox scandal, is credited with developing the pitch ca. 1906.
It's about seven-tenths as fast as a Cheetah
The speed of a Cheetah is about 110,500 meters per hour.
(Acinonyx jubatus)
The cheetah can reach speeds of up to 110,500 meters per hour in short bursts. From a crouching position, the cheetah can attain these speeds in just 2.25 seconds.
It's about two-thirds as fast as a Hurricane
The speed of a Hurricane is about 119,000 meters per hour.
(formally: Topical cyclone; a.k.a. typhoon)
A hurricane is defined by the US National Hurricane Center as a Northern Hemisphere tropical storm having one-minute average wind-speeds of at least 119,000 meters per hour. Typhoons Tip (October, 1979) and Keith (October, 1997) and Hurricanes Camille (August, 1969) and Allen (August, 1980) jointly hold the record for highest tropical storm wind speeds at 310,000 meters per hour.
It's about two-thirds as fast as a Curveball (baseball)
The speed of a Curveball (baseball) is about 120,000 meters per hour.
(a.k.a. hook, a.k.a. hammer, a.k.a. yakker) (major league average)
The average speed of major league curveball pitch is 120,000 meters per hour. In the 1940's, debate over whether there really was a curve in the curveball pitch was settled with the conclusion that the ball does curve; however, an optical illusion caused by the spin of the ball and the batter's perception of motion exaggerates the extent of the curve.
It's about half as fast as a Fastball (baseball)
The speed of a Fastball (baseball) is about 150,000 meters per hour.
(a.k.a. rising fastball, a.k.a. cross-seam fastball, a.k.a. heater, a.k.a. hummer, a.k.a. smoker; for four-seam grip) (major league average)
The average speed of major league fastball pitch is 150,000 meters per hour. When up against the quickest professional fastball pitchers, a batter may have less than 0.4 seconds to react to a pitched ball.
It's about two times as fast as Michael Johnson
The speed of Michael Johnson is about 37,260 meters per hour.
(a.k.a. Michael Duane Johnson) (sprinter; 1967-) (at the Atlanta Olympics, 1996)
Setting a record that stood for 12 years, Michael Johnson ran a 200 m in 0:19.32 for an average speed of 37,270 meters per hour at the 1996 Olympics. Johnson was nicknamed "the Man with the Golden shoes" in recognition of the custom footwear worn during these races — a pair of Nikes with a left size of 10.5 and a right size of 11.
It's about two times as fast as Usain Bolt
The speed of Usain Bolt is about 37,100 meters per hour.
(at the Beijing Olympics, 2008) (a.k.a. Usain St. Leo Bolt, OJ, C.D.) (sprinter; 1986-)
Setting a world record, Usain Bolt ran a 100 m in 0:09.69 for an average speed of 37,200 meters per hour at the 2008 Olympics. Furthermore, Bolt's margin of record breaking — 0.03 s — is the largest margin of victory in the history of digital measurements.
It's about two-and-a-half times as fast as Flo-Jo
The speed of Flo-Jo is about 33,740 meters per hour.
(at the Seoul Olympics, 1998) (a.k.a. Florence Griffith-Joyner, a.k.a. Florence Delorez Griffith) (swimmer; 1959-1998)
Setting a world record in 1988, Flo-Jo ran a 200 m in 0:21.34 for an average speed of 33,740 meters per hour. Known as a 200 m runner, Joyner also set a record time in a 100 m race at in 1987.
It's about two-fifths as fast as a Skydiver (belly-to-earth)
The speed of a Skydiver (belly-to-earth) is about 190,000 meters per hour.
(Belly-to-Earth orientation, average conditions, terminal velocity)
A belly-to-Earth oriented skydiver's terminal velocity is about 190,000 meters per hour. In a typical jump from 3,900 m (13,000 ft), a diver in this orientation will be in freefall for 60 seconds.
It's about two-fifths as fast as a Tornado
The speed of a Tornado is about 198,754 meters per hour.
(EF2) (wind speed range average)
According to the Enhanced Fujita scale implemented by the US National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, a "significant" tornado has an Enhanced Funjita scale classification of EF2 and is characterized by wind gust speeds between 177,027.80 meters per hour and 220,480.10 meters per hour. The largest recorded tornado — an F4 event occurring in Nebraska in May, 2004 — was almost 4.02 km (2.5 mi) across.
It's about three times as fast as Noah Ngeny
The speed of Noah Ngeny is about 27,280 meters per hour.
(in Rieti, Italy; 1999) (sprinter; 1978-)
Setting a world record at the Rieti Grand Prix in 1999, Noah Ngeny ran 1,000 m in 2:11.96 for an average speed of 27,280 meters per hour. According to some reports, Ngeny did not begin running competitively until just three years before setting the record.