‘That was me going 60 per cent’: Major US streaming star rocks up at training, races GWS players

One of the biggest YouTubers on the planet has gatecrashed GWS Giants training, challenging players to foot races which ended in wild scenes.

Top streamer IShowSpeed appeared at GWS training.

One of the biggest live streamers on the planet has gatecrashed GWS Giants training, challenging players to races and showing off surprisingly solid footy skills.

American 19-year-old Darren Watkins Jr., much better known as IShowSpeed, has over 33 million subscribers on YouTube with much of his content involving ‘IRL streams’, where he simply explores a country as his many thousands of fans watch live.

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His popularity has persisted despite several controversial incidents including alleged misogynistic behaviour, with wild stunts and high-energy behaviour creating a massive, young base.

Those fans flocked around Speed after he made his appearance at Giants HQ on Friday afternoon.

He was guided around the training base by Connor Idun and Josh Kelly, and given his own Giants guernsey before being introduced to the rest of the playing group.

Speed took the opportunity to challenge several Giants players to 50-metre races, much like he raced Olympic gold medallist Noah Lyles earlier this month - unsurprisingly losing.

He had a much better time against GWS forward Callum Brown, “betting” $10,000 that he could beat Brown and doing so.

“That was me going 60 percent,” Speed claimed, telling his chat: “y’all know how fast I can really run”.

However he went double-or-nothing and allowed the much bigger Brown to race his bodyguard, with Brown winning.

Then came a tougher opponent in ‘The Kid With The Lid’ Darcy Jones, who didn’t need his trademark helmet to show his trademark pace.

Jones beat Speed in their first race prompting a huge celebration from his Giants teammates.

But the streamer claimed his opponent had false-started, with a second race effectively a dead heat.

Speed then claimed he’d won the race.

“You lost bro, you lost brother,” he said.

By the sounds of the video, an American voice said: “I think that’s a draw.”

Looking at the replay, Speed argued his chest had crossed the line first, but it didn’t convince everyone.

A third race didn’t happen with Jones worried about getting injured.

Top streamer IShowSpeed appeared at GWS training.

But while Speed came to mainstream attention after racing Lyles, he then claimed that he’d be pushing to make the 2028 Olympics in LA.

“In 2028, I’ll be running the Olympics for sure,” Speed said.

“I don’t know, man, that’s too long. I’ll maybe do the 100m, 50m, and maybe the 200m. You know what I mean, I’ll do the 100m then.”

For the record, there is no 50m race in athletics at the Olympics.

However, Lyles said he believed Speed could do it, even offering to train with the online sensation.

“To be honest, everybody’s getting mad that he said it, but at the end of the day, why are you mad?” Lyles said.

“We’re an amateur sport. If he’s fast enough, he can do it.

“He’s got four years, go ahead and train. If he ends up being fast enough to make the team, that’s a whole new group of people watching track and field for a new reason. That’s nothing but good for the sport.

“If he wants to come get a taste of some professional training, that ain’t no problem with me. Got to ask my coach, though. I don’t run the practices. I just do what they tell me.”

Originally published as ‘That was me going 60 per cent’: Major US streaming star rocks up at training, races GWS players