Four gold medals at the 1936 Olympics

Year

1936

By

Jesse Owens

Place

Berlin; Owens of Cleveland and Ohio State, Franklin County ZIP 43210 · Franklin County

Jesse Owens was born James Cleveland Owens on September 12, 1913 in Oakville, Alabama. At nine his family moved to Cleveland, Ohio, as part of the Great Migration, and a teacher who misheard J.C. as Jesse gave him the name he kept.

At Ohio State he ran for coach Larry Snyder and won eight NCAA titles, four each in 1935 and 1936. On May 25, 1935, at the Big Ten championships in Ann Arbor, he set five world records and tied another in less than an hour, a stretch called the greatest 45 minutes in sport.

At the 1936 Olympics in Berlin he won four gold medals: the 100 meters, 200 meters, long jump and 4 by 100 relay. His long jump record of 8.13 meters stood for 25 years.

Back home he met discrimination, and said he had four gold medals but you cannot eat them. He worked at odd jobs and raced horses for money. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1976 and, after his death in Tucson on March 31, 1980, the Congressional Gold Medal in 1990.

• 1913-09-12: Jesse Owens is born in Oakville, Alabama. (Oakville, AL) source
• 1922: The family moves to Cleveland (when he was nine). (Cleveland, OH) source
• 1935-05-25: At Ann Arbor he sets five world records and ties another in under an hour. (Ann Arbor, MI) source
• 1936: Owens wins four gold medals at the Berlin Olympics. (Berlin, Germany) source
• 1976: Owens receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom. source
• 1980-03-31: Owens dies in Tucson, Arizona. (Tucson, AZ) source
• 1990: He is posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal. source

• Four Olympic golds in 1936.
• Eight NCAA titles at Ohio State.

Sports icon.

• Wikipedia: Jesse Owens

• Wikipedia: Jesse Owens