Ten Greatest American Summer Olympians: No. 5 Jesse Owens
Jesse Owens deserves a special place on this list, not just for his athletic achievements but also his cultural impact. A native of Oakville, Alabama, He was one of the greatest sprinters of all-time and – thanks to his otherworldly pace – turned the 1936 Berlin Olympics from Hitler’s games, to Owens’ showcase.
James Cleveland Owens was born on September 12, 1913 as the youngest of seven children. When he was nine, his family moved to Cleveland, Ohio for a shot at a better life, something no one has thought to do since. He got the name “Jesse” when a teacher heard him say “J.C.” when his name was called in school. His southern accent led to the confusion. The nickname stayed with him the rest of his life.
Owens developed a passion for running early in life. While a student at East Technical High School in Cleveland he tied the world record in the 100-yard dash (9.4 seconds), which got him on the map nationwide. He wound up at Ohio State, where he lived up to the nickname the “Buckeye Bullet.” Owens won a record eight individual NCAA championships, four each in 1935 and 1936.
On May 25, 1935, Owens accomplished what might be the greatest athletic feat in history. During a Big Ten meet in Ann Arbor, Michigan, he set three world records and tied a fourth, all in the span of just 45 minutes. He broke the long jump (8.13 meters), 220-yard dash (20.3 seconds), 220-yard hurdles (22.6 seconds) records, while once again tying the 100-yard dash record of 9.4 seconds. He was the first athlete to break 23 seconds in the 220 hurdles and his long jump record stood for 25 years. Owens had become a national star.
While he was earning glory for Ohio State, Owens was not allowed to be on scholarship because of the color of his skin. He had to live off campus with other African Americans and work odd jobs to pay for school. When the track team traveled, Owens had to stay in black-only hotels and eat in black-only restaurants.
In 1936 Owens finally got his chance on the world stage at the Olympics in Berlin. Fellow American athlete James LuValle claims the throngs that followed Owens around in Berlin were so desperate to interact with him that soldiers had to protect him when he left the Olympic village.
The message Hitler and the Germans tried to convey at the 1936 Olympics was that the Aryan race was superior to all others. Unfortunately for Adolf and his buddies, Jesse Owens showed up and blew those theories to smithereens.
Owens won four gold medals in Berlin and took all the attention from the Fuhrer. He opened his campaign on August 3 with a victory in the 100-meters with a time of 10.3 seconds, besting teammate and fellow African-American Ralph Metcalfe by 0.1 seconds.
On August 4, he won the long jump with an Olympic-record distance of 8.06 meters (26 feet, 5 inches). Owens credited German rival Luz Long for giving him some technical advice during the qualifying round. Long finished second and was the first to congratulate Owens on his feat. While Long was tall, blonde and blue-eyed, he had no love for the Nazis. He embraced Owens, and likely infuriated Hitler in the process. Long and Owens shared that moment, but never saw each other again. Long was killed in World War II, though Owens continued to correspond with his family.
On August 5, Owens picked up his third gold by setting a world-record time of 20.7 in the 200 meters. He edged out teammate Mack Robinson (Jackie Robinson’s older brother) by 0.4 seconds. Then on August 9, Owens capped off his brilliant Olympics when the United States won gold and set a world record in the 4×100 relay with a time of 39.8 seconds. That record stood for 20 years.
Before the Olympics, the Germans went out of their way to perpetrate the myth of the inferiority of African-Americans and poked fun at the United States for using “black auxiliaries” or “non-humans” in competition. Owens and his teammates took those comments and shoved them right back where they came from.
Albert Speer later commented that Owens’ wins “annoyed” Hitler on what was supposed to be his grandest stage.
Owens returned home to a hero’s welcome and received a ticker tape parade through Manhattan’s Canyon of Heroes. Afterwards, Owens was not allowed to enter through the front door of the Waldorf Astoria hotel and had to use a side entrance. America still had a long way to go.
Jesse Owens retired from athletic competition after the 1936 Olympics and was outspoken about the lack of opportunities for black athletes in America. He held odd jobs and wound up running a dry cleaning business and working at a gas station before eventually filing for bankruptcy. He was prosecuted for tax evasion in 1966 before finally getting some help. The government appointed him as a goodwill ambassador and he became a speaker for corporations and opened a public relations firm. In 1976 he was awarded the Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States.
After being a smoker for 35 years, Owens died of lung cancer on March 31, 1980 in Arizona. He was just 66 years old. In 1984, the city of Berlin named a street after him, and in 1990 President George H.W. Bush posthumously award him the Congressional Gold Medal in 1990.
While Owens struggled after his athletic career, no one will ever forget who he was or what he did. For a few weeks in the summer of 1936, the son of a sharecropper and grandson of a slave stared in the face of evil and smiled. He shattered every narrative the Berlin games were supposed to represent and became an American legend and worldwide hero in the process.
The impact Owens had on the world will always be remembered.
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