r/whowouldwin • u/retired-tweeter • 4d ago

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

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.

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u/CowboySoothsayer 4d ago

Before he caught polio, FDR was very physically fit and strong.

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u/BoomerSoonerFUT 16h ago

It’s actually very likely that FDR never had polio. He was diagnosed with it but that was at a time when pretty much any symptoms like that got declared polio.

Guillain-Barré syndrome is the leading theory now.

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u/CowboySoothsayer 13h ago

There was one review study done by pediatrician in 2003 that claimed Roosevelt more likely had GBS; however, that has been refuted by many experts and historians. The American Academy of Physical and Rehabilitative Medicine has disputed that claim. GBS rarely results in debilitation so severe that a wheelchair is required and it typically resolves (or at least remissions) on its own. Polio was rampant during FDR’s time and while unusual for an adult to catch it, it did happen. I had a great uncle that caught polio when he was about 30. Occam’s razor applies—the simplest answer is usually correct. Polio was prevalent; it’s what he was diagnosed with and his symptoms and lack of improvement matches it. No need to try to try to re-diagnose him 85 years later.