bundesliga

The 10 fastest players in Bundesliga history

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Bayern Munich's Canadian 'Roadrunner' Alphonso Davies and Borussia Dortmund's Karim Adeyemi have both previously held the distinction as the fastest player ever recorded in the Bundesliga, but who's the speedster to have pipped them?

bundesliga.com lists the 10 fastest players ever clocked in the German top flight since records began in 2011/12…

Click here for list of fastest players in the current season

1) Gerrit Holtmann - 22.83 mph (36.74 km/h)

Matchday 9 of the 2024/25 Bundesliga season may have been one to forget for Bochum as they slipped to a jaw-dropping 7-2 defeat at Eintraht Frankfurt, but will nevertheless live long in the memory for midfielder Gerrit Holtmann. The 29-year-old clocked the fastest speed ever registered by a Bundesliga player in the first half, meaning the record was broken for a second time in the same season as he squeezed past Sirlord Conteh (below). 

2) Sirlord Conteh - 22.79 mph (36.67 km/h)

Heidenheim's summer signing set the speed alert alarm ringing late in his team's 4-0 win over Augsburg in the second game of 2024/25 as he chased down a clearance for an attempted break. The Hamburg-born winger of Ghanaian parents just pipped Adeyemi's previous record as the fastest player ever clocked in Germany's top flight.

Watch: Conteh's jet-heeled run on Matchday 2

3) Karim Adeyemi - 22.77 mph (36.65 km/h)

Dortmund's German forward turned on the after-burners in his side's 5-1 win over Freiburg early in the second half of the 2022/23 season to set a new Bundesliga speed record at the time. He hit 22.77 mph and used his pace to good effect to plunder a goal in Dortmund's win.

4) Loïs Openda - 22.76 mph (36.64 km/h)

Three of the top four fastest speeds every recorded have been set in the 2024/25 campaign, with Leipzig forward Loïs Openda taking the spot just outside the top three. The Belgian stepped on the gas in Leipzig's 3-1 victory over Freiburg on Matchday 8, grabbing himself a goal and an assist in addition to clocking a ridiculous speed of 36.63 km/h.

5) Jeremiah St. Juste – 22.76 mph (36.63 km/h)

The appearance of a centre-back near the top of this list may be a shock, but former Mainz man St. Juste is quick - very quick. The Dutchman completes the podium with a fastest speed of 22.76 mph recorded in Mainz’s encounter with Union Berlin on Matchday 7 of 2021/22.

6) Sheraldo Becker – 22.72 mph (36.57 km/h)

Former Union man Becker - another Dutchman - has been ousted from the top three with his top speed of 22.72 mph, achieved late on in the 2022/23 season, when he completed 1,113 sprints. He improved on his previous best of 22.61 mph set midway through the first half of Die Eisernen’s home game against VfB Stuttgart on Matchday 26 of the 2021/22 campaign.

=7) Nathan Ngoumou 22.69 mph (36.53 km/h)

Despite suffering a 2-0 defeat on Matchday 4 of the 2024/25 campaign to Eintracht Frankfurt, Gladbach speedster Nathan Ngoumou managed to make a nuisance of himself all game. A bright spark for Gladbach on a disappointing afternoon, the winger catapulted himself into this Top 10 list, registering a speed of 36.53 km/h early on in the match.

=7) Alphonso Davies – 22.69 mph (36.53 km/h)

The 2019/20 season will be one that nobody at Bayern ever forgets, especially Davies. It was his breakthrough campaign at the club following his January 2019 arrival from the Vancouver Whitecaps, almost breaking through the sound barrier on Matchday 32 against Werder Bremen in the game where the Bavarians secured the Bundesliga title - the first of six trophies in 2020 - when he was recorded at a blistering 22.68 mph. And he would only get speedier, registering his quickest ever time in the 2021/22 season; a staggering 22.69 mph recorded on Matchday 27 in a 1-0 away win over Freiburg.

9) Moussa Diaby – 22.69 mph (36.52 km/h)

Diaby first broke the magic 36 km/h mark at the back end of the 2019/20 season and held the record for the fastest player in the 2022/23 campaign until surpassed by Adeyemi when caught at 22.69 mph (36.52 km/h) late in the second half of Bayer Leverkusen’s draw with Wolfsburg on Matchday 11.

Watch: The fastest players in Bundesliga history

10) Achraf Hakimi – 22.67 mph (36.49 km/h)

The record Davies broke in 2020 had previously, for a few months, belonged to Dortmund's Hakimi after the speed gun caught him at 22.67 mph on Matchday 20 of 2019/20 as BVB thumped Union Berlin 5-0. He'd also broken the record four games earlier when he reached 22.49 mph against RB Leipzig.