Jesse Owens
Track & Field · Hometown: Cleveland, OH
- High school
- East Technical High School
- College
- Ohio State University
- Pro team(s)
- U.S. Olympic Team
- Hall of Fame
- ⭐ U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame
James Cleveland Owens was born in Oakville, Alabama, and moved with his family to Cleveland, Ohio, as a child — where a teacher misheard "J.C." as "Jesse," giving him his name. He attended East Technical High School in Cleveland, where he equaled the world record in the 100-yard dash as a teenager. At Ohio State he set three world records and tied a fourth in a single afternoon (May 25, 1935) — a performance some consider the greatest single day in track and field history. Then came the 1936 Berlin Summer Olympics: before Adolf Hitler and 110,000 spectators, Jesse Owens won four gold medals in the 100m, 200m, long jump, and 4×100m relay — demolishing the Nazi ideology of Aryan supremacy with every stride and leap. He remains the most important Olympic athlete in American history. Inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 1983 (inaugural class).