All 47 US Presidents are running against each other in a 40 yard dash. Who wins?

[u/retired-tweeter]

Every U.S. President is magically cloned into their peak physical form, dropped onto a football field, and lined up for a 40-yard dash. Who ya got?

Favorites:

JFK: 2 sport college athlete, plus military training. Swam 3.5 miles towing an injured soldier with a bad back.

Gerald Ford: Another strong military background who was a two-way football player at Michigan.

Dwight D. Eisenhower: Extensive military career, who played halfback at west point until his injury. Guessing he was a little fast even in segregated times

Barack Obama: Gonna get a lot of votes here probably as one of the only presidents we've seen in action playing an athletic sport, but no athletic background, so you know, can't give him too much credit

Donald Trump: In doing my 20 minutes worth of research, I came across this quote from a Ted Levine in 2015 (In an article about Trump running in 2016 so...take that as you will) "He was just the best, a good athlete, a great athlete," Levine said. "He could have probably played pro ball as a pitcher. I think he threw 80 miles an hour.... He was physically and mentally gifted." So there's that (Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-high-school-classmates-what-he-was-like-2015-10)

All in All, I'd lean Gerald Ford. JFK had injury issues so who knows what his "prime" would have been athletically. Maybe at absolute peak and health, JFK could win, but I'm going with the 2-way football player from Michigan.

[u/dunnylogs]

Abe had that long stride. Maybe not in the 40, but if it was longer I might take time.

Slick Willy was a college halfback?!?! If true it almost has to be him.

[u/TheShadowKick → u/dunnylogs]

Tall people actually don't seem to have an advantage in distance running. A long stride is only one factor in how fast you can run. Tall people also have more weight to move and worse heat management.

[u/periodmoustache → u/TheShadowKick]

Is a 40yd dash 'distance running'?

[u/TheShadowKick → u/periodmoustache]

I was responding to the above poster saying "maybe not in the 40, but if it was longer..."

[u/periodmoustache → u/TheShadowKick]

Ah

[u/IWouldLikeAName → u/TheShadowKick]

The typical height for sprints is like 6 feet no?

[u/StunningRing5465 → u/TheShadowKick]

Think he was talking about a 100m or thereabouts 

[u/aimless_meteor → u/periodmoustache]

Farther than most people on Reddit have ran in their lives

[u/superspacetrucker → u/TheShadowKick]

Usain Bolt is unusually tall for a sprinter, he seems to be the exception to the rule.

[u/Intelligent_Fig_4852 → u/superspacetrucker]

Usain Bolt is a freak of nature

[u/leasthoodinthehood → u/superspacetrucker]

And Bolt's 40 was not great. It was average for an Olympic sprinter. It was his top end that that was leagues ahead.

Su Bingtian, who is only 5'8", holds the world record for the 40 meters, but drops off after that with his short strides.

[u/superspacetrucker → u/leasthoodinthehood]

I remember Donovan Bailey was similar. He was tall, slower to average start, but picked up more speed the second half of his races.

[u/WebAccount5000 → u/TheShadowKick]

Great when theyre kids though

[u/Ill_Ad3517 → u/TheShadowKick]

Long enough distance and he just put walks the competition

[u/versusChou → u/TheShadowKick]

For long distance you actually want to be on the average to shorter side. Ideal build is long legs, short torso, thin, shortish, and Kenyan.

For men:
Eliud Kipchoge is 5'8
Kelvin Kiptum was 5'11
Bashir Abdi is 5'9
Evans Chebet is 5'6
Kenenisa Beyecha is 5'5

Kelvin wasn't even 6'0 and he was kinda unusually tall. It's the weight to power ratio. As you get taller you gain more mass for your legs to have to carry. You basically already want your torso to be tiny with small arms. Getting taller just adds a lot of bone and muscle mass to carry.

[u/XAfricaSaltX → u/TheShadowKick]

Tall people have an advantage if it’s like 400 meters or so

[u/According-District59 → u/TheShadowKick]

The formula is tall people legs, short people upper body 

[u/lone-lemming → u/dunnylogs]

Had that long stride and was a soldier in a time of marching through the mountains for months at a time. In a marathon he’d crush it. Might be a solid pick for the 40 yard dash too.

[u/gunner7517 → u/lone-lemming]

Lincoln was apparently a good wrestler in his youth. I’d say it’s a sport that takes good cardio and explosive strength. Abe really does have a good chance here i’d say.

[u/TotallyNotACook → u/gunner7517]

Good’s an understatement. Over 300 documented wins and only 1 documented loss. He was literally a certified champion. May not help him in the 40 yard dash but he was one of the most athletic presidents ever.

[u/PeculiarPangolinMan → u/TotallyNotACook]

Good’s an understatement. Over 300 documented wins and only 1 documented loss.

I think like 2 of his matches are actually documented. The rest are just quotes from contemporaries who said he had 300 matches. Nobody was documenting the results or existence of rando regimental wrestling matches.

[u/gunner7517 → u/PeculiarPangolinMan]

Yeah, that number seemed so ridiculous i didn’t believe it at all and therefore didn’t quote it.

[u/Watchmeplayguitar → u/dunnylogs]

No. He didn’t even play high school football. 

[u/kn_mad → u/dunnylogs]

I dont think many people realize that Abe was also an accomplished wrestler/street fighter. His fighting record was widely known before he even entered politics. He's in the national wrestling hall of fame with some reports saying he recorded 1 loss in over a decade of wrestling.