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Jesse Owens

American track and field athlete

Jesse Owens

Born:September 12, 1913

Died:March 31, 1980

Age at death:66

Manner of death:Natural Causes

Cause of death:Lung Cancer

Zodiac Sign:Virgo

Height:1.78 m (5′10″)

Born in:Oakville, United States

Buried in:United States

Languages:English

EntrepreneurSprinterAthletics CompetitorOlympic ChampionLong JumperAthlete

Links

WikipediaOfficial WebsiteIMDb

Famous For

Movies & TV

Jesse OwensBack to Berlin

Books

BlackthinkGene-sized DNA insertion at genomic safe harbors in human cells using a site-directed transposase

Awards

IAAF Hall of Fame (2012)Presidential Medal of Freedom (1976)Silver Olympic Order (1976)Theodore Roosevelt Award (1974)Associated Press Athlete of the Year (1936)

Biography

James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens (September 12, 1913 – March 31, 1980) was an American track and field athlete. He made history at the 1936 Olympic Games by winning four gold medals, setting individual Olympic records in each event, plus another as a member of the 400-meter relay. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest athletes in track and field history. Owens excelled in short sprints and the long jump and was lauded in his lifetime as "perhaps the greatest and most famous athlete in track and field history". Earlier he won four events, set five world records, and tied another—all in less than an hour, at the 1935 Big Ten Championships in Ann Arbor, Michigan, a feat that has never been equaled and was called "the greatest 45 minutes ever in sport". He won four NCAA titles in both 1935 and 1936, bringing his total to eight—an unparalleled achievement still unmatched. He achieved international fame at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany, by winning four gold medals: 100 meters, long jump, 200 meters, and 4 × 100-meter relay. He was the most successful athlete at the Games and, as a black American man, was credited by ESPN with "single-handedly crushing Hitler's myth of Aryan supremacy". The Jesse Owens Award is USA Track & Field's accolade for the year's best track and field athlete. In a 1950 Associated Press poll, Owens was voted the greatest track and field athlete for the first half of the century. In 1999, he made the six-man short-list for the BBC's Sports Personality of the Century. That same year, ESPN ranked him sixth-greatest North American athlete of the twentieth century and the highest-ranked in his sport.

This biography uses content from the Wikipedia article “Jesse Owens”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License.

Quotes

“The road to the Olympics, leads to no city, no country. It goes far beyond New York or Moscow, ancient Greece or Nazi Germany. The road to the Olympics leads — in the end — to the best within us.”

— As quoted in People In America : "Jesse Owens" by Barbara Dash on VOA (7 June 2002)

“Mr. Hitler had to leave the stadium early, but after winning I hurried up to the radio booth. When I passed near the Chancellor he arose, waved his hand at me and I waved back at him.”

— Quoted in "Owens, Back, Gets Hearty Reception" by Louis Effrat, The New York Times, (August 25, 1936), p.25. Online for subscribers only.

“Hitler didn't snub me; it was our president who snubbed me. The president didn't even send me a telegram.”

— About Franklin D. Roosevelt, as quoted in Triumph: The Untold Story of Jesse Owens and Hitler's Olympics (2007), by Jeremy Schaap, New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, p. 211

Quotes sourced from the Wikiquote article "Jesse Owens", available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License.

Photos

Jesse Owens

Photo of Jesse Owens in 1936.

Jesse Owens

Jesse Owen's room in the 1936 Olympic Village in Berlin as seen today.

Jesse Owens

US track team house at the 1936 Berlin Olympic Village

Jesse Owens

Jesse Owens competes in a broad jump event at a track meet. A crowd watches from stadium seats. James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens was an American track and field athlete. He participated in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany, where he achieved international fame by winning four gold medals.

Jesse Owens

Jesse Owens pictured in a midair jump. A large crowd watches from stadium seats, possibly at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens was an American track and field athlete. He participated in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany, where he achieved international fame by winning four gold medals.

Jesse Owens

Jesse Owens from the Ohio State University track team competes in a race against unidentified members of the University of California track team.

Jesse Owens

Jesse Owens became Olympic champion with a jump distance of 8.06 m. This replica of his spikes is on display in the German Sport and Olympic Museum. The original can be found in the Adidas company museum.

Jesse Owens

Grave of Jesse Owens (1913–1980) at Oak Woods Cemetery, Chicago. Stone reads: "Jesse Owens. Olympic Champion. 1936. Athlete and humanitarian. A master of the spirit as well as the mechanics of sports. A winner who knew that winning was not everything. He showed extraordinary love for his family and friends. His achievements have shown us all the promise of America. His faith in America inspired countless others to do their best for themselves and their country. September 12, 1913 – March 31, 1980."

Jesse Owens

Canyon of Heroes - Sep 3 1936 - Jesse Owens & US Olympic Team.

Jesse Owens

“Proudest moments” were a three-time experience for Jesse Owens, dusky Ohio State flash, at the Olympic Games in Berlin, where thrice he mounted the dais before more than 100,000 cheering spectators to receive highest individual honors, Here, crowned with the laurels of victory and holding the victor's oak tree, he is pictured saluting in American fashion after winning the running broad jump with a leap of 26 feet 5 21-64 inches, In front of the wonder athlete is Naoto Tajima of Japan, who placed third. At the right, arm extended in Nazi salute, is Lutz Long of Germany, who jumped second best. Owens was the center of similar ceremonies after winning the 100-meter and 200-meter events

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