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/SHOOT_THA_BOOT]

Eisenhower played linebacker for West Point

[u/Azfitnessprofessor → u/SHOOT_THA_BOOT]

Which wasn’t considered D-1

[u/Mysterious_Check_983 → u/Azfitnessprofessor]

You are very wrong. Army was always d1.

[u/Azfitnessprofessor → u/Mysterious_Check_983]

If you say so

[u/Mysterious_Check_983 → u/Azfitnessprofessor]

You can just Google it.

[u/TormundIceBreaker → u/Azfitnessprofessor]

The fuck are you on about? Army football has been D1 since its inception and won a national title in 1914. Unless you're just being incredibly pedantic about the naming of it

[u/Intelligent_Fig_4852 → u/TormundIceBreaker]

They won their last one in 44 or 45

[u/Azfitnessprofessor → u/TormundIceBreaker]

Army is FCS or what used to be called Division 1A. So West Point and Michigan are both D-1 the same way Alabama and Portland State are both D1. Ford was a star player for a two time national champ Michigan was an all star and was heavily recruited by the Lions and Green Bay by all accounts Ford was an elite athlete of his time.

[u/GP_ADD → u/Azfitnessprofessor]

They are very much an FBS team and have like 4 national championships at D-1 FBS level. They are in the American conference which is a G5 conference. maybe you are confusing P5 and G5 as not the the same level of football

[u/Intelligent_Fig_4852 → u/Azfitnessprofessor]

No you are completely wrong

[u/Azfitnessprofessor → u/Intelligent_Fig_4852]

Army is in the patriots league which competes in the FCS, vs Michigan which is BCS.

[u/GP_ADD → u/Azfitnessprofessor]

BCS is not a division. It was an era of college football. The BCS was from like 98 to 2013 when the BCS chose two schools to play for a natty. Army is in D-1 FBS in the American conference. It is the only sport they play top level D-1 in, everything else they are patriots league

[u/Azfitnessprofessor → u/GP_ADD]

According to Army’s website it currently in the FBS I stand corrected, still doesn’t mean Eisenhower was on par with Ford. Ford is widely considered to be the greatest athlete who served as President, he was a standout star at Michigan.

[u/Intelligent_Fig_4852 → u/Azfitnessprofessor]

No they are in the American athletic conference

[u/Azfitnessprofessor → u/Intelligent_Fig_4852]

Yes I was clearly mistaken

[u/StrategicCarry → u/Azfitnessprofessor]

Army is in the Patriot League for all sports but football. It was an FBS independent in football, but joined the American Conference in 2024.

[u/Azfitnessprofessor → u/StrategicCarry]

I realized that upon further discussion, it still doesn’t change the fact Ford was by far the best athlete president, Bush Sr was a decent baseball player at Yale and a WW2 ace

[u/risingthermal → u/Azfitnessprofessor]

Army literally won a national championship with Notre Dame on their schedule while Eisenhower was a cadet there. He’d had a career ending injury by that point and was never the player Ford was, but that is beside the point.

https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/army/1914-schedule.html