Jesse Owens

By: Nikki Shrestha 

       As a boy, he used to take on different jobs like delivering groceries,loaded freight cars, and worked at a shoe repair shop. During, that time period he had realized a passion for running. His athletic career began in his Junior High where he set a record for 6 feet in the high jump and leaping 22 feet 11 3/4 in the broad jump. Owens got more known after he attended East Technical High School in Cleveland, when he broke the world record of 9.4 seconds in the 100-yard dash. He worked many other jobs during college to support him and his young wife by being a night elevator operator, a waiter, he pumped gas, worked in library stacks, and served at the Ohio Statehouse. But none of those things got in the way of following his dreams. He set three world records in 45 minutes at Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1935. 

     Jesse Owens was an American track and field athlete. He is known to be especially good at sprints and long jumps. In 1936, he was participant in a summer Olympics,where he won four gold medals: one for 100 meters, the 200 meters, the long jump, and as part of the 4x100 relay team. In that time Adolf Hitler was using the games to show the world popularity of the Nazi Germany. Hitler and his government was rooting for German athletes to dominate the games by many wins. Owens surprised many taking home four gold medals.It has been said that Hitler shook hands only with people that won from Germany. Olympic committee officials told Hitler that he has to greet every participant or none at all, but he later refused to shake Owens hands because he was annoyed on how much victory the American runner had got.

        After Owens death, president Carter stated "Perhaps no athlete better symbolized the human struggle against tyranny, poverty and racial bigotry. His personal triumphs as a world-class athlete and record holder were the prelude to a career devoted to helping others. His work with young athletes, as an unofficial ambassador overseas, and a spokesman for freedom are a rich legacy to his fellow Americans."
       I think Jesse Owens was strong as an athlete and a person in general, because honestly just finding what your dream is and people trying to make you stop is the biggest obstacle in life. Society came in the way of his dream just because he wasn't the same skin color, they didn't want him to win, they didn't want him to succeed just because he was black. That didn't stop him though he went out there, got known, stood out and is still shining because he simply didn't care what people thought and I have a lot of respect for those kind of people. He also knew what his goals were which got him to winning 4 gold medals in 45 minutes.As he also quotes, "We all have dreams. In order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline and effort."