Jesse Owens – One of The Fastest Olympic Runners

Jesse Owens was born on September 12 in 1913. He grew up in Oakville, Alabama with his two parents Henry Owens and Emma Owens. He was sick as a child and his parents couldn’t really afford a doctor when Jesse had pneumonia. Besides, the people were already taking too much money from their payment. So, after a couple weeks his parents decided to move away and they had enough money for a train ride and and enough for them to buy them an apartment and pay for it for a couple days. After Him and his family moved to Cleveland Ohio he went to a school and got the very name Jesse due to the teacher not understanding his accent. Since Jesse was so fast, Coach Riley asked him to join his track team. After a couple years his reputation was world wide. On May 25th, in 1935 Jesse passed the 100yrd dash

Since Jesse was so successful he married a woman named Ruth In his college years. Ruth already had a child but soon after she had two more and that led up to both Jesse and Ruth to have three children. After a bit as he got older he moved back to America with his wife after he retired his old track days. But even though Jesse was gone for quite some time there was still a bit of racism. By the time of 1920 New York became more of a home to Jesse and the rest of black people. Since Jesse was so well known Robinson quite a famous person invited Jesse to work with him, he wanted Jesse to be in some of his shows. Because of that pairing Harlem had become the largest neighborhood in America and because of this it was named the “Harlem Renaissance. His family then moved back to Cleveland, Ohio to celebrate his success in his life. About three days after he was worshipped in the state capital of Columbus. The governor made a speech and as well as Gave Mrs Ruth a set of nice fancy silverware. Then the US Olympic team came back and Jesse rode with them. He sat with Jack Dempsy which many Black people dislike. Some people didn’t like that Jesse was seated with him. And as well a lot of black people were pretty mad about Jesse for not boycotting the games. When the parade reached Harlem people were booing him. By the year of 1936 after the celebrations and all Jesse was faced with harder challenges. While he was in Germany a bunch of people offered him jobs but when he came back they all faded away. Only a couple months after he was finally offered a real yet strange money making opportunity. Jesse was paid to race a horse in Cuba and of course Jesse won. There were some haters that said “An olympic champion should not race a horse’’. Years later after that Jesse replied with “But you can’t eat four gold medals”. He would say that by the meaning of he needs money for food and for his college degree. Three years after he received a high medal he found out he had lung cancer and died at sixty six years old. In 1984 his granddaughter Gina was picked to carry the torch into Memorial Coliseum to start the Los Angeles Olympics.

Jesse got many medals during his adulthood. Jesse made history at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 75 years ago when he destroyed the Nazi Myth of Aryan Supremacy. He brought home four gold medals and oak saplings. The whereabouts of those trees has been a mystery. He was awarded the Presidential medal.

In conclusion Jesse was a hardworking man throughout his life. Even though he was going through those things he didn’t give up he kept working hard and eventually he became a world star. Jesse proved many white and black people wrong during those prejudiced times, because in the end he became famous and liked by many people earning a lot of awards. He made it very far in his life and even now his legacy and knowledge is still known.