“There are a lot of people, especially a lot of dudes, who are sitting at home going, ‘I could probably beat her in a race.'” said Athos NYC Alexis Ohanian. As Serena Williams’ husband and an advocate for women’s sports, Ohanain is no stranger to people underestimating women in sports. So right ahead of Athlos NYC on September 26, the Reddit co-founder hatched a plan.

The 41-year-old suggested getting one of these “Joe dudes” to race ahead of the female Olympic and world champions who raced at Athlos NYC. Ohanian wanted to say, “Hey man let me put you in like, lane seven. We’re going to run the camera just like we will during the race. We’ll say go you run as hard as you can and record it,” said the venture capitalist.

Alexis Ohanian didn’t even want the John Doe to race against someone and perhaps become anxious. Instead, the entrepreneur wanted the average Joe to record the best possible time. “Then we can layer the guy on the six ladies who are actually going to run the 100(m),” Ohanian told Justin Gatlin and Rodney Green during his appearance in Ready Set Go.

The Athlos investor revealed everyone who learned about his plan thought it was hilarious, and encouraged him to do it. Ohanian also added that nearly every female sprinter he talked to had already heard a casual fan make such a statement. “They had multiple stories,” of people saying they could beat them after finding out the women were sprinters.

However, the Reddit co-founder didn’t want to humble the casual fan maliciously. That’s why he thought of layering footage to two different races to showcase that underestimating Olympic and world champions based on gender would be a huge mistake. “I want to create those moments where you kind of lean back, and you’re like, “Oh wow! I got that way wrong.'” explained Alexis Ohanian.

Podcast host and the fifth-fastest man in history, Justin Gatlin, agreed with Alexis Ohanian. The former World champion said that casual fans would be surprised just how fast elite female sprinters run. “You do a radar gun… These women are running like 25, 23 mph… That’s real speed,” said Gatlin. However, co-host Rodney Green made an even bolder claim.

Rodney Green makes the NFL comparison

While Aleix Ohanian and Justin Gatlin discussed pitting elite female sprinters with the average Joe, Green had a different idea. Instead, he compared the likes of Sha’Carri Richardson, Gabby Thomas, and Paris 2024 champ Julien Alfred, to the average NFL athlete. “The average NFL athlete cannot run faster than 10.9 (seconds),” claimed Rodney Green.

While there are outliers like DK Metcalf, who ran 100m in 10.37s at the Golden Games, or Tyreek Hill, who has a 10.19s, 100 meter PB, Green was talking about the average footballer. Hill even said he could beat 2024 Olympic champion Noah Lyles in the race. Yet, despite being elite NFL athletes, many would fall short against the best female sprinters in the world, according to Green.

“Elite women will beat most of these guys in a 50-yard run or 60-yard run,” said Green. So the average guy who thinks they could challenge and defeat elite female sprinters is in for a rude awakening if they ever get the opportunity. So, what did you think of Alexis Ohanian’s plan to humble the average Joe with an ego? Write your views in the comments.