Jesse Owens

Sep 12, 1913 - Mar 31, 1980

James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens was an American track and field athlete who won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games.
Owens specialized in the sprints and the long jump and was recognized in his lifetime as "perhaps the greatest and most famous athlete in track and field history". He set three world records and tied another, all in less than an hour, at the 1935 Big Ten track meet in Ann Arbor, Michigan—a feat that has never been equaled and has been called "the greatest 45 minutes ever in sport".
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 with "single-handedly crushing Hitler's myth of Aryan supremacy". However, Hitler did not shake hands with any athletes that day and, as Owens pointed out, "I wasn't invited to the White House to shake hands with the President, either.".
The Jesse Owens Award is USA Track and Field's highest accolade for the year's best track and field athlete.
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“We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort.”

Jesse Owens
Sep 12, 1913 - Mar 31, 1980
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