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Learn about the life and achievements of Jesse Owens, the American track and field athlete who won four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Discover how he broke world records, challenged racism, and became a symbol of sports and American pride.
3 days ago · Jesse Owens was an American track-and-field athlete who won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. His Olympic victories were a blow to Adolf Hitler’s intention to use the Games to demonstrate Aryan superiority. Learn more about Owens’s life and accomplishments in this article.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Jesse Owens was an American athlete. He is best remembered for his performance at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, where he won gold medals in the long ju...
- Jesse Owens was born on September 12, 1913, in Oakville, Alabama. He was the 10th and final child of two sharecroppers; his grandparents had been s...
- After the Olympics ended, stories claiming that Jesse Owens had been snubbed by Adolf Hitler circulated widely. While it is true that Hitler did no...
- Jesse Owens struggled to find work after the Olympics. He raced against horses for money and worked as a gas station attendant and a playground jan...
- A heavy smoker, Jesse Owens died of lung cancer on March 31, 1980, in Tucson, Arizona. He was 66. Four years after his death, a street in Berlin wa...
Jun 19, 2024 · Jesse Owens is generally considered the greatest track and field athlete in history—and one of the greatest athletes, period. His athletic career began in high school, and he...
- Penguin Workshop
Learn about the life and achievements of Jesse Owens, the African-American track and field athlete who won four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Discover how he rebuked Hitler's Aryan race theory, worked with underprivileged youth, and received many awards and honors.
- Owens Captured Four Gold Medals at A Single Olympiad.
- Owens Said President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Not Hitler, Snubbed him.
- A Teacher’s Mispronunciation Led to A Name Change.
- His Mother Performed Makeshift Surgery on Him with A Knife.
- Owens Was Nicknamed The “Buckeye Bullet.”
- Owens Raced Against Horses For Money.
- The New York Mets Baseball Team Hired Owens as A Running Coach.
- There Are Enduring Memorials to Owens in Berlin.
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Although Adolf Hitler intended the 1936 Berlin Games to be a showcase for the Nazi ideology of Aryan racial supremacy, it was a Black man who left the biggest imprint on that year’s Games. In one of the greatest performances in Olympic history, Owens captured gold in the 100 meters, long jump, 200 meters and 4×100 meter relay, a feat that would not...
In the immediate aftermath of the Berlin Games, a myth arose that Hitler, enraged at the triumph of an African American, refused to congratulate Owens on his victories because he failed to shake his hand. However, the press reported that the German leader gave the American sprinter a “friendly little Nazi salute,” and Owens said that the two exchan...
Born James Cleveland Owens, the track star was called “J.C.” by his family. On his first day at Bolton Elementary School after moving to Cleveland at age 9, the teacher misheard his Alabama drawl and thought he said his name was “Jesse” instead of “J.C.” Owens was too shy to correct his new teacher in front of his new classmates, and he was called ...
Owens, the 10th and last child of a pair of poor sharecroppers, was a sickly child. The day after his 5th birthday, he developed a large fibrous bump on his chest that began to painfully press against his lungs. Unable to afford a doctor to remove it, his parents decided to perform the surgery on their own. As Owens bit down hard on a leather strap...
After developing into a track and field star at a Cleveland high school, Owens enrolled at The Ohio State University. While smashing records for the Ohio State Buckeyes track team, he became known as the “Buckeye Bullet.” Although he was the first Black man elected captain of an Ohio State varsity team, Owens was barred from living in the on-campus...
In spite of his fame on his return from Berlin, Owens struggled for money and began to participate in stunt races against dogs, motorcycles and even horses during halftime of soccer matches and between doubleheaders of Negro League baseball games. Owens would start 40 yards ahead of his equine competitors before sprinting for 100 yards, and he woul...
In 1965, the downtrodden New York Mets hired Owens as a spring training running instructor to improve the players’ base-running techniques and foot speed. Not even an Olympic champion, though, could help the 1965 Mets, who stole only 28 bases while being caught stealing 42 times on their way to a last-place finish.
In 1984, a street outside Berlin’s Olympic Stadium, where Owens shot to fame, was rechristened Jesse-Owens-Allee, and the section of the Olympic Village in which the sprinter stayed during the 1936 Summer Olympics features displays about the American champion.
Learn about the life and achievements of Jesse Owens, the African American track star who won four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Games and defied Hitler's Aryan supremacy. Discover his nickname, his mother's surgery, his shoe sponsor and more surprising stories.
Learn about Jesse Owens, the African-American sprinter who won four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, defying Hitler's ideology. Discover his world records, his advice from a German rival and his famous quote.
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Feb 10, 2007 · Learn about the life and achievements of Jesse Owens, the African American track and field star who won four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Explore his early struggles, his athletic feats, his controversies, and his legacy.
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