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Isles to lose mantle of Sevens' fastest man?

Cape Town - USA Sevens star Carlin Isles appears set to lose his title as the fastest player on the planet with news that an Olympic bronze medal sprinter is set to try his hand at the sport.

CNN reported this week that Jamaican Warren Weir, who picked up a bronze medal in the 200m at the 2012 Olympics in London, is signing up for 'The Crocs' - his country’s national Sevens team.

As you would expect, compatriots Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake were the two sprinters to beat him as Jamaica swept the podium that day.

Weir will make his debut at the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games in Baranquilla, Colombia from August 1-2, where he will get his first competitive taste of a sport he has little knowledge of, let alone experience.

Weir was injured at the recent Commonwealth Games on Australia's Gold Coast, and was invited to try out for the team, where he 'learned the sport a little'.

The holder of the informal title of the 'Fastest Rugby Player on the Planet', Isles will have his work cut for him, at least in terms of sheer speed.

According to the RugbyPass website, the USA Sevens speedster officially clocked a 10.13 seconds 100m in his track and field days, but debutant Weir shaved just over one-tenth of a second off that remarkable time, having been clocked in 2013 at 10.02 for the 100m and 19.79 seconds for the 200m, in which he specialises.

Weir also won 200m silver medals at the 2013 World Championships in Moscow and the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. He was part of the 4x100m team that took gold in Moscow and collected another relay bronze on the Gold Coast.

Weir, 28, has set his sights on helping Jamaica to qualify for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo - and to reach the podium.

“I’d love to be that Jamaican that went to two Olympic Games for two different sports,” he told the Jamaica Gleaner this week.

“That would be a major achievement for myself... if we got there and got onto the podium, that would be a wonderful story to tell.”

However, as with Isles to a degree, Weir's lack of size might leave him vulnerable, even on the considerably less collision-based world of Sevens compared to rugby union.

Isles - at 5-foot-8 and 75kg - is small by Sevens standards, but he’s relatively heavily built in comparison to Weir, who stands 5-foot-10 and weighs just 71kg.

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