Jesse Owens
Cover for Issue 204
Chicago
Issue 203 August 5, 2008

Jesse Owens was born James Cleveland Owens on September 12th, 1913 in Oakville, Alabama. When he was nine years old, Owens moved with his family to Cleveland, Ohio, where he discovered his talent for running. As a high-school senior, he tied the world record in the 100-yard dash with a time of 9.4 seconds.

In 1933, Owens entered Ohio University. At the time, the United States was still struggling to desegregate, so Owens was forced to live off campus; when he traveled with the track team, he would have to part ways with his teammates and eat in "blacks-only" restaurants and sleep in "blacks-only" hotels.

At the Big Ten meet in Ann Arbor on May 25th, 1935, Jesse set three world records and tied a fourth, all in a span of about 45 minutes.

In 1936, Jesse entered the Olympics, which to many are known as the "Hitler Olympics. His stunning victories and achievement of four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin has made him the best-remembered of all Olympic athletes. Fast and fierce, Jesse Owens sprinted his way into the history books.

This image from the Library of Congress' image archives shows Owens just before winning the gold medal in the 200-meter dash.

View more images! Take a look at Artkrush's most recent slideshow and Activate's The Week in Pictures.

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