Usain Bolt may have been the fastest, and Michael Phelps may have been the most decorated Olympian of all time, but few people have had a greater global impact on the sporting world or personified Olympic values more than Jesse Owens. Winning four gold medals at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, an event presided over by Adolf Hitler, the young African American man became an important symbol in the struggle for equality.
Jesse Owens was born in 1913 in Oakville, Alabama. Born James Cleveland Owens, his childhood nickname was JC. He was the youngest of ten children. His grandfather was born into slavery.
It was at Fairmount Junior High School that Owens first realized his passion for running, under the guidance of his track coach, Charles Riley. In 1933, Owens attracted national attention by jumping 24 feet, 9 1/2 inches in the long jump and equaling the 9.4-second world record in the 100-yard dash.
On May 25, 1935, Jesse Owens set four world athletic records in 45 minutes at a Big Ten meet hosted by the University of Michigan.
With 90,000-strong crowds of German spectators cheering on the young Black athlete to four gold medals, Owens' success jarred with Hitler's vision of Nazi Germany and white supremacy.
Throughout his time at the Berlin Olympics, despite the prevalent fascism in the country at the time, Owens had been allowed to stay in the same hotels as his white teammates, while back in his own country, he was forced to stay in Black-only hotels.
Owens' four gold medals at the 1936 Olympics were not equaled until Carl Lewis matched that total at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. It was not until 2016 that the Black athletes who competed in the 1936 Berlin Olympics were recognized by the White House under President Barack Obama.