Jesse Owens

Jesse Owens running (http://www.authentichistory.com/1930s/sports/images/jesse_owens_1936_01.jpg)

"James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens was born in September 12, 1913 in Lawrence County, Alabama in the Oakville community, to Henry and Emma Owens and died in March 31, 1980."

"He was an American Track and Field athlete. He participated in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany, where he achieved international fame by winning four gold medals: one each in the 100 meters, the 200 meters, the long jump, and as part of the 4x100 meter relay team."

"When Owens was nine, he moved to the Glenville section of Cleveland, Ohio. Owens was called Jesse by a teacher in Cleveland who did not understand his country accent when the young boy said he was called J.C. as in James Cleveland. Life in the ghetto was not prosperous for the family. Owens had taken different jobs in his spare time: He delivered groceries loaded freight cars and worked in a shoe repair shop. During this period Owens realized that he had a passion for running."

"Owens first came to national attention when he was a student of East Technical High School in Cleveland; he equaled the world record of 9.4 seconds in the 100-yard (91 m) dash and long-jumped 24 feet 9 � inches (7.56 m) at the 1933 National High School Championship in Chicago. Throughout his life Owens attributed the success of his athletic career to the encouragement of Charles Riley, his junior-high track coach at Fairview Junior High, who had put him on the track team Harrison Dillard, a Cleveland athlete inspired by Owens). Since Owens worked in a shoe repair shop after school, Riley allowed him to practice before school instead. Riley was more than just a coach though, he became a person that Jesse Owens could turn to for advice on personal matters away from the sports field, and remained a lifelong friend. He was affectionately known as the "Buckeye Bullet" and won a record eight individual NCAA championships, four each in 1935 and 1936. The record of four gold medals at the NCAA has only been equaled by Xavier Carter in 2006, although his titles also included relay medals. However, while Owens was enjoying athletic success, he had to live off-campus with other African-American athletes. Owens' greatest achievement came in a span of 45 minutes on May 25, 1935 at the Big Ten meet in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he set three world records and tied a fourth. He equaled the world record for the 100 yard (91 m) sprint (9.4 seconds) and set world records in the long jump. This athlete has become an important part of history because in fact, in 2005 both NBC sports announcer Bob Costas and University of Central Florida professor of sports history Richard C. Crepeau chose him as the most impressive athletic achievement since 1850."

"Owens was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha, the first intercollegiate Greek-letter organization established for African Americans. In 1936 Owens arrived in Berlin to compete for the United States in the Summer Olympics. Adolf Hitler was using the games to show the world a resurgent Nazi Germany. He and other government officials had high hopes German athletes would dominate the games with victories (the German athletes did indeed achieve a top of the table medal haul). Meanwhile, Nazi propaganda promoted concepts of "Aryan racial superiority" and depicted ethnic Africans as inferior. Owens surprised many by winning four gold medals: On August 3, 1936 he won the 100m sprint, defeating Ralph Metcalfe; on August 4, the long jump (later crediting friendly and helpful advice from German competitor Luz Long; on August 5, the 200m sprint; and, after he was added to the 4 x 100 m relay team, his fourth on August 9. Owens was cheered enthusiastically by 110,000 people in Berlin's Olympic Stadium and later ordinary Germans sought his autograph when they saw him in the streets. Owens was allowed to travel with and stay in the same hotels as whites, an irony at the time given that black in the United States were denied equal rights. After the games had finished, Owens was invited, along with the rest of the team, to compete in Sweden. However he decided to capitalise on his success by returning to the United States to take up some of the lucrative commercial offers he was receiving. American athletic officials were furious and withdrew his amateur status, ending his career immediately. Owens was livid: "A fellow desires something for himself," he said."

The above is an excerpt from WIKIPEDIA

I would say that Jesse Owens remarkable personality was that he liked to fight for everybody else's rights when authority was being unfair with them. That he loved sports and that with this he could achieve several obstacles that would help black people all over the world. I know heroes are a very good example to society because they established the equal rights between white and black people, and that's the way we are meant to live; in peace and without racial, education, sex or gender discrimination at all. Heroes show that by working hard, everything can be accomplished and that there's nothing to worry about. What my athlete and I have in common is that both of us like to accomplish our goals and we don't take this out of our minds until we do it. We both persevere and are responsible in our work. What I lack from Jesse Owens is his athletic ability. I am good at school and in other activities but at sports I don't consider myself to be very good.

One of Jesse Owens' characteristics that I would like to posses is his courage; because he was so courageous defending equal rights and had no fear of being jailed or getting mistreated by authority. He always looked forward and didn't care about the disparaging things that were sometimes said about him. Heroes aren't worried about being popular or being loved by society, they just want to accomplish their goals and do their best. They worry about living in a better world without any type of discrimination. They are able to make their dreams come true! Jesse Owens and these other athletes will never be forgotten because they won very important competitions and broke many records while the rest of society was against them and they fought for their rights!