Jesse Owens

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Lore & Background

Jesse Owens, originally known as J. C., was the youngest of ten children (three girls and seven boys) born to Henry Cleveland Owens, a sharecropper, and Mary Emma Fitzgerald in Oakville, Alabama, on September 12, 1913. He was the grandson of a slave. At age nine, he and his family moved to Cleveland, Ohio as part of the Great Migration. When his new teacher asked his name, she thought he said "Jesse" due to his strong Southern accent, and the name stuck. Owens took menial jobs in his spare time—delivering groceries, loading freight cars, and working in a shoe repair shop—while his father and older brother worked at a steel mill. He attributed his athletic success to the encouragement of Charles Riley, his junior high school track coach at Fairmount Junior High School, who allowed him to practice before school because Owens worked after school. Owens first came to national attention at East Technical High School in Cleveland, equaling the world record of 9.4 seconds in the 100-yard dash, breaking the national high school record with 20.7 seconds in the 220-yard dash, and long-jumping 24 feet 9+1⁄2 inches at the 1933 National High School Championship in Chicago. He entered Ohio State University in 1933, where he won a record eight individual NCAA championships, four each in 1935 and 1936. Despite his athletic success, he lived off campus with other African-American athletes, was restricted to ordering carry-out or eating at "blacks-only" restaurants and staying at "blacks-only" hotels while traveling, and did not receive a scholarship. He was placed on academic probation in 1936 and 1940 and dropped out of Ohio State in 1941 without a degree. On May 25, 1935, at the Big Ten Championships in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Owens set five world records and tied a sixth in a span of 45 minutes, a feat that has never been equaled and has been called "the greatest 45 minutes ever in sport." At the 1936 Berlin Olympics, he won gold in the 100 meters, long jump, 200 meters, and 4 × 100-meter relay, becoming the most successful athlete at the Games. As a black American man, he was credited by ESPN with "single-handedly crushing Hitler's myth of Aryan supremacy."

Reader's Guide

Jesse Owens's significance lies in his unparalleled athletic achievements and their impact during a politically charged era. His four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics directly challenged Nazi ideology of racial superiority, as he was the most successful athlete at those Games. His 1935 Big Ten performance—five world records and a tie in 45 minutes—remains unmatched and is considered one of the greatest feats in sports history. Owens's career total of eight individual NCAA titles still stands as the most, despite only two years of varsity competition. The Jesse Owens Award is USA Track & Field's highest accolade for the year's best track and field athlete. In 1950, an Associated Press poll voted him the greatest track and field athlete for the first half of the century. In 1999, he was on the six-man short-list for the BBC's Sports Personality of the Century and was ranked the sixth greatest North American athlete of the twentieth century and the highest-ranked in his sport by ESPN. His life also reflects the racial barriers of his time: he faced segregation, lived off campus, and worked part-time jobs while at Ohio State, and was initially urged by the NAACP to boycott the 1936 Olympics due to Nazi racism. Owens's legacy endures as a symbol of athletic excellence and resilience.

Did You Know?

• Owens set five world records and tied a sixth in a span of 45 minutes at the 1935 Big Ten Championships, a feat that has never been equaled and has been called 'the greatest 45 minutes ever in sport.'
• He was the grandson of a slave.
• Owens's long jump world record of 26 feet 8+1⁄4 inches, set in 1935, stood for 25 years until broken by Ralph Boston in 1960.
• He was the most successful athlete at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, winning four gold medals.
• Owens's career total of eight individual NCAA titles remains the most, despite only two years of varsity competition.

A Career Forged in Records and Hardship

Owens's two varsity seasons at Ohio State, where he was affectionately known as the "Buckeye Bullet" under coach Larry Snyder, yielded a record eight individual NCAA championships—four in 1935 and four in 1936—that no athlete has since equaled. His 1936 junior campaign was completely undefeated, with wins in all forty-two events he entered. The defining performance of his career arrived on May 25, 1935, at the Big Ten Championships in Ann Arbor. Fighting through a lower back injury, he won four events, set five world records, and tied a sixth in a span of just forty-five minutes from 3:15–4 p.m. at Ferry Field. He equaled the world record for the 100-yard dash (9.4 seconds), set world records in the long jump (26 feet 8+1⁄4 inches, a world record that would last for 25 years), the 220-yard sprint (20.3 seconds), and the 220-yard low hurdles (22.6 seconds, becoming the first to break 23 seconds). Both 220-yard records also beat the metric records for 200 meters, counting as two additional world records. In 2005, University of Central Florida professor of sports history Richard C. Crepeau chose these wins as the most impressive athletic achievement since 1850. Yet behind the records lay hardship: Owens received no scholarship, worked part-time jobs to pay for school, was placed on academic probation in 1936 and 1940, and dropped out of Ohio State in 1941 without a degree. Segregation compounded the difficulty—he lived off campus, was limited to "blacks-only" restaurants and hotels on team trips, and had to order carry-out when traveling with the squad.

Berlin 1936: Shattering a Myth on the Track

The 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany, remains the moment that cemented Jesse Owens in the global consciousness. Competing as a Black American man in the heart of Nazi Germany, he claimed gold medals in the 100 meters (10.3 seconds on August 3), the long jump (8.06 metres on August 4), the 200 meters (20.7 seconds on August 5), and the 4 × 100-meter relay (world record 39.8 seconds on August 9), setting individual Olympic records in each event plus another as a member of the relay. No other athlete at those Games matched his haul, making him the most successful competitor of the tournament. The political resonance of his victories could not be overstated: in a stadium built to showcase what the regime claimed as the superiority of the Aryan race, Owens's dominance on the track dealt a devastating blow to that narrative. ESPN has since credited him with "single-handedly crushing Hitler's myth of Aryan supremacy." His performance at those Games elevated him from a celebrated collegiate star to an international icon, and it is the achievement for which he is most universally remembered. Decades later, he was still widely regarded as one of the greatest athletes ever to compete in track and field, a reputation that has endured well beyond his lifetime.

From Oakville to the Starting Line

James Cleveland Owens was born on September 12, 1913, in Oakville, Alabama, the youngest of ten children (three girls and seven boys) raised by sharecropper Henry Cleveland Owens and his wife Mary Emma Fitzgerald. He was the grandson of a slave. At age nine, his family joined the Great Migration, relocating to Cleveland, Ohio. A new teacher, mishearing his Southern-accented "J. C." as "Jesse," gave him the name that would define his life. In his younger years he took different menial jobs in his spare time—delivering groceries, loading freight cars, and working in a shoe repair shop—while his father and older brother worked at a steel mill. It was then that his love of running took root. His junior high coach, Charles Riley at Fairmount Junior High School, recognized his talent and let him train before school to fit around his after-hours labor. Owens met Minnie Ruth Solomon at Fairmont Junior High School in Cleveland when he was fifteen and she was thirteen; they dated steadily through high school, Ruth gave birth to their first daughter Gloria in 1932, they married on July 5, 1935, and had two more daughters together: Marlene in 1937 and Beverly in 1940. They remained married until his death in 1980. At East Technical High School he first drew national attention, equaling the world record of 9.4 seconds in the 100-yard dash, breaking the national high school record with 20.7 seconds in the 220-yard dash, and long-jumping 24 feet 9+1⁄2 inches at the 1933 National High School Championship in Chicago—records that endured for decades.

A Legacy That Outlasted the Finish Line

Jesse Owens's influence on track and field extends far beyond the medals and records he accumulated in competition. In his own lifetime he was recognized as "perhaps the greatest and most famous athlete in track and field history," and that reputation has only deepened. USA Track & Field names its highest annual honor—the Jesse Owens Award—after him, for the year's best track and field athlete. In 1950, an Associated Press poll selected him as the greatest track and field athlete for the first half of the century. In 1999, the BBC placed him on a six-person shortlist for its Sports Personality of the Century vote, and ESPN ranked him the sixth-greatest North American athlete of the twentieth century, the highest-ranked in his sport. That same year, sports historian Richard C. Crepeau of the University of Central Florida identified Owens's single-day feat at the 1935 Big Ten Championships as the most impressive athletic achievement since 1850. He passed away on March 31, 1980, but the standards he set on the track and in the broader cultural conversation about race and excellence continue to shape how the sport remembers its past.