American Presidents have long had a close relationship with sports. Gerald Ford starred in football as a lineman for Michigan, George W. Bush co-owned the Texas Rangers and John F. Kennedy was on the Harvard swim team. But unlike most presidents before him, Barack Obama took an interest in sports during his presidency. Taking office at age 47, Obama was in suitable health to participate in pickup basketball games, White House tennis matches and golf rounds across the world. His eight years in office showed off a diverse array of his athletic abilities.
On Obama's final day in office, we bring back the best GIFs of Obama playing sports during his presidency:
Basketball is Obama's passion, and he was actually a bench player for the 1978-79 Punahou School Hawaii state championship team. As President, Obama renovated the White House tennis court to make it adaptable for basketball and he was known to play pickup games with colleagues and friends, especially on Election Days. This week, ThePostGame posed the question: Is Barack Obama good at basketball?
Here's an Obama jump shot,
An Obama drive, spin and layup (and possible double-dribble),
And Obama with some crossovers alongside the Harlem Globetrotters:
In terms of baseball, Obama threw out a handful of MLB first pitches as president. This 2010 lob at Nationals Park (wearing a White Sox hat) stands out:
Hanging with Stephen Colbert after Super Bowl 50, Obama purposely threw a football wild:
After meeting with the 2013-14 Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings, Obama casually strolled through the White House air stick-handling a hockey stick.
Obama is known to have played more than 300 rounds of golf during his tenure in the White House. His driving swing and putting stroke could both use some work though.
Obama used some nasty spin on Chris Evert and her doubles partner on the White House tennis court.
Obama takes ping pong seriously, and David Cameron weighs him down.
This is just Obama working out:
Check out the future Tour de France champ cycling:
Obama joined some children in Rio kick around a soccer ball.
The outgoing president is about to have a lot more time to play these sports, although, the cameras will not be as prevalent.
-- Follow Jeff Eisenband on Twitter @JeffEisenband. Like Jeff Eisenband on Facebook.