The legendary American black athlete Jesse Owens is considered one of the outstanding athletes in the world. He is known for his unique records, the fight against racism and injustice.
Athlete Biography
Jesse Owens was born September 12, 1913 in the southeastern United States, in Alabama (in the city of Oakville). He is African American. His father, Henry Cleveland Owens, worked as a cotton picker. Jesse is the youngest child. In addition to him, the family had nine more children (three girls and six boys).
The future champion's real name is James Cleveland Owens, but his relatives called him JC. When the boy was seven years old, he began to help his father pick cotton. And he did it well - on the day the youngest son brought up to a hundred pounds of plants. When James turned 9 years old, the Owens family moved to North America. In 1922, they began a new life in the city of Cleveland.
At the school, which began to attend James, the teacher asked the name of the boy, and he said: "JC". But the teacher did not make out his southern accent and recorded "Jesse". So began the story of Jesse Owens. In school, the boy helped his family. He got a job in order to bring money to relatives. The future champion was a fruit and vegetable delivery man in a supermarket, an assistant in a shoe workshop, a gas station refueling station.
The beginning of a career athlete
After studying at junior high school, Jesse Owens began to get involved in jogging. But after school, the boy had no time to attend training. The first mentor of the athlete was school physical education teacher Charles Riley. It was he who suggested Owens to postpone the workouts in the morning. At the undergraduate institution, Jesse began to take part in school running competitions. In 1928, he met his future wife, at that time he was only fifteen years old. In 1932, the athlete became a father - his daughter Gloria was born to him.
In 1933, Owens performed at the US Championship among schoolchildren in 100m running and jumping, where he became the winner. Despite his achievements, the athlete did not receive a sports scholarship at the university. Therefore, he paid for tuition at Columbus University in Ohio on his own. To do this, the young man had to work as a lifter and a paper delivery man for offices. Jesse Owens, whose biography shows how difficult his life was, knew how to find time for training even on workdays.
Preparation for international competitions
In 1935, the athlete moved to California, because the 1936 Olympics was near. Jesse Owens was considered one of the main contenders for victory in running and jumping. In California, he wanted to undergo thorough preparation for the games. But faced with the temptations of a new life. Here he came to know the world of wealth, movie stars and fans, previously unknown to him.
Money and entertainment adversely affected the athlete’s physical fitness. For some time, the athlete Jesse Owens stopped winning, and the newspaper did not appear in new articles about his achievements. Therefore, the multiple record holder decided to move back to Ohio and continue training there. Gradually, he regained his good physical shape and faith in victory at the 1936 Olympics.
Jesse Owens and Hitler - International Games Competition
In 1936, the Olympics in Germany (in Berlin) was supposed to be some kind of proof of the superiority of the white race. The German authorities also wanted to convince their people of the invincible power of fascism. They sought to demonstrate the clear racial superiority of the Aryans.
At that time, there was a "special attitude" to blacks. They were considered the second grade, unworthy of victory. Despite achievements, the American athlete had to visit separate restaurants, hotels and toilets. But at the 1936 Olympics, the black Jesse Owens defeated 100 meters. The record set by the athlete for a long time no one could beat. According to the rules of international games, Adolf Hitler had to personally shake hands with the champion. But the Fuhrer defiantly refused to do this and retired from the stadium, once again expressing his superiority over the black athlete.
Also a disappointment for the German authorities were long jump competitions . The German Lutz Long and the American Jesse Owens participated in the fight for the gold medal. The winner and champion was the last. Unlike the authorities, the German athlete sincerely congratulated James and ran a circle of honor with him around the stadium.
The next day, Owens went on a two-hundred-meter race under the shouts of fans of his name. In this fight, the American was again the first. He won the third gold medal at the 1936 Olympics. But this victory was not the last in international competitions. According to the decision of the organizers of the Olympics, two Jewish runners were expelled from the relay team. One of the vacant seats was taken by Jesse Owens. The American set a world record in the relay 4 * 100 m and received the fourth gold medal.
After the Olympic Games in Germany, Jesse Owens became a national hero. Sports newspapers and magazines wrote only about the unique feat of the athlete. It was a sensation - a black American won four gold medals right in front of Hitler.
The return of the triumph to their homeland and disappointment
After the 1936 Olympics, Jesse returned to America. He became known as the Black Bullet. He was full of hope for a new life: rich and starry. The athlete wanted fame and recognition at home. On the arrival of Owens, he was directly surrounded by journalists on the ferry. He was pleased to give an interview about his triumphal victories. But already in the evening the champion again faced a manifestation of racism. The winner could not find refuge. All hotels were denied a black night. Only one of the many hotels allowed Jesse to spend the night, but he was allowed to enter there only from the back entrance, so that the guests did not notice him.
The four-time champion did not receive his promised wealth, although the newspapers were full of notes that the athlete would be paid a considerable amount. True, once he was lucky. Jesse Owens was invited to Fifth Avenue parade dedicated to his victories. The athlete drove past the crowd of spectators as a national hero. One of those around threw a small bundle into his car, which the champion took for a packet of cookies. A little later, he noticed that 10 thousand dollars were hidden inside.
New life in the old way
Commercials with Jesse Owens were shot very rarely. Earning was small in order to survive and feed his family. Therefore, he went into a small business. The athlete opened the laundry, but it did not bring the desired income. The next crazy decision of the athlete was to participate in races against horses, dogs and kangaroos. He did not care what they thought of him. The black champion is used to injustice and bias. He needed money, and he earned it as best he could.
Glory and recognition of Jesse
Only in the 50s of the 20th century did the American authorities need the image of Owens (during the Cold War). During this period, society began to recover from racism, and the athlete was known as the first black man to break down barriers between people with different skin colors. Since 1952, the sprinter has become an honored guest and commentator at all the Olympic Games.
When fame came to Jesse Owens, he began to publicly denounce the American government. The athlete spoke sharply in the media about the stupid boycott of the country's authorities regarding his participation in the Moscow Olympics. He believed that sport should not be dependent on politics.
Success and achievement
Jesse Owens has a lot of sporting achievements. At the age of 22, in just forty-five minutes, he improved three world records. This is an obstacle race and a two-hundred-meter race, long jumps.
His record (a jump with a result of 8 m 13 cm) was not beaten by anyone for 25 years. One American professor of sports history called Owens' 45-minute record the greatest sporting achievement since 1850.
Films about the life of an athlete
The story of Jesse Owens is so interesting that two films were made about his life. The first documentary was released in 2011 in the United States. The 54-minute film was based on truthful information about the legendary black athlete, his triumph at the 1936 Olympics. The director of the film is Lawrence Grant.
In 2016, a movie about Jesse Owens was released under the name Race ("Willpower"). This is a two-hour feature film based on real events. The film describes in detail the events of the 30s, especially the Olympic Games in fascist Berlin in 1936. Jesse Owens played by Stephen James. In a biographical film, as in real life, a black athlete alone proved to the Führer and the whole world that the racial theories of fascism were wrong. The director of the film is Stephen Hopkins.
The death of a famous athlete
Jesse Owens died in the spring of 1980 in Arizona. At the age of 66, he learned about his incurable disease - a malignant tumor of the lungs.
At the end of his career as an athlete, Jesse began to abuse cigarettes. He smoked for 35 whole years, which led his body to cancer. An athlete’s body wrapped in an Olympic flag is buried in Chicago. After the death of Jesse Owens, the street leading to the Olympia Stadium was named after him.