Jesse Owens breaks all kinds of records
August 9, 1936
Jesse Owens wins four gold medals at the Berlin Olympics as well as breaking world records (individually as well as part of a team). He is the first American track and field athlete to win 4 golds at one Olympics.
His run in the 100-meter dash (10.3 seconds) became an Olympic record and tied the then-current world record. He set an Olympic record in the long jump (8.06 meters – over 26’) which was not broken until 1968 (New York Times, April 1, 1980). His run in the 200-meter dash (20.7 seconds) set another world record as did his team’s run in the 4 x 100-meter relay (39.8 seconds).
In the 200-meter dash, the silver medalist was Mack Robinson, older brother of 17-year old Jackie Robinson. Owens’ 200-meter and 100-meter run times were Olympic records until 1964 (NY Times).
Just one year before, at the Big Ten Conference Championships in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Jesse Owens broke 3 world records in 45 minutes.
While that was on the track, off the track things were very different. Because of his race, he was not allowed to stay at the “whites only” hotel with his other teammates. In fact, he could not even enter the hotel through the front door.
At the Berlin Olympics, Hitler refused to shake hands with any of the black Olympian medalists. In fact, he actually left the stadium after three black Americans, Owens included, swept all the high-jump medals.
On the other hand, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt also did not acknowledge the conquering hero when the team returned home. While a phone call or White House invitation would not have been unusual, Owens received neither.
Presidents Ford and Carter redressed the situation with the Presidential Medal of Honor (1976) and the Living Legends Award (1979).
Owens died in 1980 of lung cancer. Yes, he was a smoker. When he won that first Olympic medal, he was a new father, married to his high school sweetheart.
In 1984, a street in Berlin was re-named in his honor, Jesse-Owens-Allee.
Link:
http://library.osu.edu/…
http://www.jesseowens.com
