View source for Jesse Owens

{{Short description|American track and field athlete (1913–1980)}}
{{About||the documentary film|Jesse Owens (American Experience){{!}}''Jesse Owens'' (American Experience)}}
{{pp-semi-indef}}
{{Use American English|date=May 2016}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2024}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| name = Jesse Owens
| image = Jesse Owens 1936.jpg
| caption = Owens at the [[1936 Summer Olympics]], where he won four Olympic gold medals
| nickname = The Buckeye Bullet
| birth_name = James Cleveland Owens
| birth_date = {{birth date|1913|09|12}}
| birth_place = [[Oakville, Alabama]], U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1980|03|31|1913|09|12}}
| death_place = [[Tucson, Arizona]], U.S.
| resting_place = [[Oak Woods Cemetery]]
| spouse = {{marriage|M. Ruth Solomon|1935}}
| height = 5 ft 11 in<ref name=Edmondson>{{cite book|last1=Edmondson|first1=Jacqueline|title=Jesse Owens: A Biography|date=2007|publisher=[[Greenwood Publishing Group]] |location=US|page=29|isbn=978-0-313-33988-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ngxJ7XqMqTEC|access-date=September 6, 2014}}</ref>
| weight = 165 lb
| sport = [[Track and field]]
| event = [[Sprint (running)|Sprint]], [[Long jump]]
| club = 
| retired = 
| coaching = 
| nationals = {{ubl
|'''[[1933 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships|1933 USA Champs]]'''
|{{bull}} [[100m]], 3rd {{BronzeMedal}}
|{{bull}} [[Long jump]], 1st {{GoldMedal}}
|'''[[1934 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships|1934 USA Indoors]]'''
|{{bull}} [[Long jump]], 1st {{GoldMedal}}
|'''[[1934 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships|1934 USA Champs]]'''
|{{bull}} [[100m]], 2nd {{SilverMedal}}
|{{bull}} [[Long jump]], 1st {{GoldMedal}}
|'''[[1935 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships|1935 USA Indoors]]'''
|{{bull}} [[60m]], 2nd {{SilverMedal}}
|{{bull}} [[Long jump]], 1st {{GoldMedal}}
|'''[[1935 NCAA Track and Field Championships|1935 NCAAs]]'''
|{{bull}} [[100-yard dash|100yd]], 1st {{GoldMedal}}
|{{bull}} [[200m|220yd]], 1st {{GoldMedal}}
|{{bull}} [[Low hurdles|220yd hurdles]], 1st {{GoldMedal}}
|{{bull}} [[Long jump]], 1st {{GoldMedal}}
|'''[[1935 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships|1935 USA Champs]]'''
|{{bull}} [[100m]], 3rd {{BronzeMedal}}
|{{bull}} [[Long jump]], 2nd {{SilverMedal}}
|'''[[1936 NCAA Track and Field Championships|1936 NCAAs]]'''
|{{bull}} [[100m]], 1st {{GoldMedal}}
|{{bull}} [[200m]], 1st {{GoldMedal}}
|{{bull}} [[Low hurdles|220yd hurdles]], 1st {{GoldMedal}}
|{{bull}} [[Long jump]], 1st {{GoldMedal}}
|'''[[1936 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships|1936 USA Champs]]'''
|{{bull}} [[100m]], 1st {{GoldMedal}}
|{{bull}} [[Long jump]], 1st {{GoldMedal}}
}}
| pb = '''60 yd''': 6.09{{efn|According to his coach [[Larry Snyder (hurdler)|Larry Snyder]], in preparation for the 1936 [[Big Ten Conference|Big Ten]] Championships, Owens ran two [[60-yard dash|60-yard dashes]] in six seconds flat.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The World's Greatest Track Athlete by Larry Snyder, Page 25 (46 of 392) |url=https://library.osu.edu/documents/university-archives/biographical_files/Owens_Jesse.pdf |access-date=2025-05-28 |website=library.osu.edu}}</ref>|name=a}} (1935)<br />'''100 yd''': 9.3{{AthAbbr|w}} (1936)<br />'''100 m''': 10.2 (1936)<br />'''200 m''': 20.7 (1936)<br />'''220 yd''': 20.3 (1935)<br />'''Long jump''': 8.13 m (1935)
| medaltemplates = {{MedalSport|Men's [[Sport of athletics|athletics]]}}
{{MedalCountry|the {{USA}}}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[Athletics at the Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[1936 Summer Olympics|1936 Berlin]]|[[Athletics at the 1936 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metres|100 m]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[1936 Summer Olympics|1936 Berlin]]|[[Athletics at the 1936 Summer Olympics – Men's 200 metres|200 m]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[1936 Summer Olympics|1936 Berlin]]|[[Athletics at the 1936 Summer Olympics – Men's 4 × 100 metres relay|4 × 100 m relay]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[1936 Summer Olympics|1936 Berlin]]|[[Athletics at the 1936 Summer Olympics – Men's long jump|Long jump]]}}
}}

'''James Cleveland''' "'''Jesse'''" '''Owens''' (September 12, 1913 – March 31, 1980) was an American [[track and field]] athlete who made history at the [[Athletics at the 1936 Summer Olympics|1936 Olympic Games]] by winning four gold medals, setting Olympic records in each event.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|title=Treasure Trove: A Collection of ICSE Poems and Short Stories|publisher=Evergreen Publications Ltd.|year=2020|isbn=978-93-5063-700-5|location=Darya Ganj, New Delhi, India|page=103}}</ref><ref name=":20" /> He is widely regarded as one of the greatest athletes in track and field history.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Track and Field Greatest Athletes of All Time |url=https://www.topendsports.com/world/lists/greatest-all-time/athletics.htm#google_vignette |access-date=2025-05-11 |website=www.topendsports.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=2024-07-20 |title=Ten greatest Olympians of all time, including Bolt and 'Athlete of the Century' |url=https://talksport.com/olympics/1851955/olympic-games-top-ten-athletes-ranked-usain-bolt-michael-phelps-carl-lewis/ |access-date=2025-05-11 |website=talkSPORT}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Famous Track Athletes |url=https://trackclassic.com/famous-track-athletes/ |access-date=2025-05-11 |website=History of Track and Field Sports |language=en-US}}</ref>

Owens excelled in events like short [[Sprint (running)|sprints]] and the [[long jump]] and was recognized in his lifetime as "perhaps the greatest and most famous athlete in track and field history".<ref>{{Citation |last=Litsky |first=Frank |title=Jesse Owens Dies of Cancer at 66 |newspaper=The New York Times |year=1980 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0912.html |access-date=March 23, 2014 |location=New York}}</ref> He won four events, set five world records and tied another—all in less than an hour, at the 1935 [[Big Ten Conference|Big Ten]] Championships in [[Ann Arbor, Michigan]], a feat that has never been equaled and has been called "the greatest 45 minutes ever in sport".<ref name="si_45_minutes">{{cite magazine|last1=Rothschild|first1=Richard|title=Greatest 45 minutes ever in sports|url=https://www.si.com/more-sports/2010/05/24/owens-recordday |access-date=December 10, 2019|magazine=[[Sports Illustrated]]|date=May 24, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160809234203/https://www.si.com/more-sports/2010/05/24/owens-recordday |archive-date=August 9, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> He won four [[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]] titles in both 1935 and 1936, bringing his total to eight—an unparalleled achievement that remains unmatched to this day.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McGrath |first=Dan |date=2011-02-20 |title=Big Ten Icons: Jesse Owens |url=https://btn.com/2011/02/20/big-ten-icons-jesse-owens-2/ |access-date=2025-05-11 |website=Big Ten Network |language=en-US}}</ref>

He achieved international fame at the 1936 Summer Olympics in [[Berlin]], Germany, by winning four gold medals: 100 meters, long jump, 200 meters, and 4 × 100-meter relay. He was the most successful athlete at the Games and, as a black American man, was credited by [[ESPN]] with "single-handedly crushing [[Adolf Hitler|Hitler]]'s myth of [[Aryan supremacy]]".<ref name=Schwartz>{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/sportscentury/features/00016393.html|title=Owens Pierced a Myth|last=Schwartz|first=Larry|publisher=ESPN Internet Ventures|year=2000|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000706211910/http://espn.go.com/sportscentury/features/00016393.html|archive-date=July 6, 2000}}</ref>

The [[Jesse Owens Award]] is [[USA Track & Field]]'s highest accolade for the year's best track and field athlete.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gatlin and Felix are recipients of the Jesse Owens Award |url=https://worldathletics.org/news/news/gatlin-and-felix-are-recipients-of-jesse-owen |access-date=May 13, 2025 |website=World Athletics}}</ref> In a 1950 [[Associated Press]] poll, Owens was voted the greatest track and field athlete for the first half of the century.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |title=ESPN.com - CLASSIC - SportsCentury biography of Jesse Owens |url=https://www.espn.com/classic/Owens_Jesse.html |access-date=2025-05-09 |website=www.espn.com}}</ref> In 1999, he was on the six-man short-list for the [[BBC]]'s [[BBC Sports Personality of the Year#Sports Personality of the Century Award|Sports Personality of the Century]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=On this day in history, August 9, 1936, Jesse Owens wins fourth gold at Berlin Olympics {{!}} Fox News |url=https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/this-day-history-august-9-jesse-owens-wins-fourth-gold-berlin-olympics.amp |access-date=2025-05-14 |website=www.foxnews.com}}</ref> That same year, he was ranked the sixth greatest [[North America|North American]] athlete of the twentieth century and the highest-ranked in his sport by ESPN.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ESPN.com - ESPNINC/PRESSRELEASES - SportsCentury Greatest Athletes |url=http://www.espn.com/espninc/pressreleases/991227scno1.html |access-date=2025-05-12 |website=www.espn.com}}</ref>

==Early life and education==
Jesse Owens, originally known as ''J. C.'', was the youngest of ten children (three girls and seven boys) born to Henry Cleveland Owens (1881–1942), a [[sharecropper]], and Mary Emma Fitzgerald (1876–1940)<ref>{{cite web|title=Mary Emma Alexander Fitzgerald |publisher=Geneanet |url=https://gw.geneanet.org/marycummins?lang=en&p=mary+emma+alexander&n=fitzgerald |access-date=2026-02-11}}</ref> in [[Oakville, Alabama]], on September 12, 1913. He was the grandson of a slave.<ref name=":3" /> At the age of nine, he and his family moved to [[Cleveland]], [[Ohio]] for better opportunities as part of the [[Great Migration (African American)|Great Migration]] (1910–70) when millions of African Americans left the [[Racial segregation in the United States|segregated]] and rural South for the urban and industrial North. When his new teacher asked his name to enter in her roll book, he said "J. C.", but because of his strong Southern accent, she thought he said "Jesse". The name stuck, and he was known as Jesse Owens for the rest of his life.<ref>Baker, William J. ''Jesse Owens – An American Life'', p. 19.</ref>

In his younger years, Owens took different menial jobs in his spare time: he delivered groceries, loaded freight cars, and worked in a shoe repair shop while his father and older brother worked at a steel mill.<ref name="jobio22">{{cite web |title=? |url=http://www.jesseowens.com/jobio2.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070703064033/http://www.jesseowens.com/jobio2.html |archive-date=July 3, 2007 |access-date=April 5, 2008}}</ref> During this period, Owens realized that he had a passion for running. Throughout his life, Owens attributed the success of his athletic career to the encouragement of Charles Riley, his [[Middle school|junior high school]] track coach at Fairmount Junior High School. Since Owens worked after school, Riley allowed him to practice before school instead.

Owens and Minnie Ruth Solomon (1915–2001) met at Fairmont Junior High School in Cleveland when he was 15 and she was 13. They dated steadily through high school. Ruth gave birth to their first daughter Gloria in 1932. They married on July 5, 1935, and had two more daughters together: Marlene, born in 1937, and Beverly, born in 1940. They remained married until his death in 1980.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://library.osu.edu/sites/archives/owens/familyframe.htm|title=The Owens Family|access-date=March 10, 2008|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090601221240/http://library.osu.edu/sites/archives/owens/familyframe.htm|archive-date=June 1, 2009}}. library.osu.edu</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/kids/dreamteam/jesseowens.html|title=Jesse Owens|publisher=Whitehouse.gov|access-date=August 6, 2013}}</ref>

Owens first came to national attention when he was a student of [[East Technical High School]] in Cleveland;<ref name="East Technical High School">{{cite news|title=East Technical High School|url=http://www.clevelandmetroschools.org/domain/1610|work=Cleveland Metro Schools|date=April 5, 2017|archive-date=June 15, 2018|access-date=April 10, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180615005019/http://www.clevelandmetroschools.org/domain/1610|url-status=dead}}</ref> he equaled the world record of 9.4 seconds in the {{convert|100|yd}} dash, broke the national high school record with 20.7 seconds in the 220 yards (201 m) dash, and long-jumped {{convert|24|ft|9+1/2|in|m|sigfig=3}} at the 1933 National High School Championship in [[Chicago]].<ref name=jocom>{{cite web|title=Jesse Owens: Track & Field Legend: Biography |url=http://www.jesseowens.com/biography/|access-date=January 6, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071223020629/http://www.jesseowens.com/biography/|archive-date=December 23, 2007}}</ref> His 100-yard dash remained the national high school record until 1967, while his 200-yard dash held the national record for 20 years.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nike Indoor Nationals - News - How It Came Together - The National High School Track and Field Hall of Fame |url=https://brookwood-high-school-snellville-georgia.runnerspace.com/eprofile.php?event_id=14189&do=news&news_id=514323 |access-date=2025-05-19 |website=www.runnerspace.com}}</ref>

==Career==
===Ohio State University===
Owens entered [[Ohio State University]] in 1933<ref name="osugrad">{{cite web |title=Owens and The Ohio State University |url=https://library.osu.edu/site/jesseowens/ohio-state/ |website=Ohio State University |quote=Owens started classes at OSU in the fall of 1933...In December 1941 he withdrew from OSU and never finished his degree.  |access-date=2026-03-22}}</ref> after his father found employment, which ensured that the family could be supported.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.willingboroschools.org/cms/lib/NJ01001192/Centricity/Domain/268/Jesse%20Owens.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614045327/https://www.willingboroschools.org/cms/lib/NJ01001192/Centricity/Domain/268/Jesse%20Owens.pdf |archive-date=June 14, 2018 |url-status=live|title=Jesse Owens – Willingboro|website=Willingboro School District|access-date=June 14, 2018}}</ref> Affectionately known as the "Buckeye Bullet" and under the coaching of [[Larry Snyder (athlete)|Larry Snyder]], Owens won a record eight individual [[NCAA]] championships, four each in 1935 and 1936.<ref name="si_45_minutes"/>  His career total of eight individual NCAA titles remains the most, despite only two years of Varsity competition—which included an undefeated junior year in 1936 where he won all 42 events he entered.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-01-16 |title=Courage – Jesse Owens |url=https://coachesinsider.com/track-x-country/courage-jesse-owens/ |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=Coaches Insider |language=en-US}}</ref> Though Owens enjoyed athletic success, he had to live off campus with other African-American athletes. When he traveled with the team, Owens was restricted to ordering carry-out or eating at "blacks-only" restaurants. Similarly, he had to stay at "blacks-only" hotels. Owens did not receive a scholarship for his efforts, so he continued to work part-time jobs to pay for school.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/race/jesse-owens-from-alabama-to-olympics/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/race/jesse-owens-from-alabama-to-olympics/ |archive-date=January 11, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=How Jesse Owens went from Alabama to Olympic glory|last=White|first=Benedict|date=May 18, 2016|work=The Telegraph|access-date=June 14, 2018}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Owens struggled as a student at Ohio State, and was placed on academic probation in 1936 and 1940. He dropped out of Ohio State in 1941 without a degree.<ref name="osugrad" />

'''Day of days'''

May 25, 1935, is remembered as the day when Jesse Owens won four events and established six [[List of world records in athletics|world records]] in [[sport of athletics|athletics]] at the [[Big Ten Conference|Big Ten]] Championships.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-05-25-sp-15641-story.html#:~:text=May%2025%2C%201935%2C%20was%20a,long%20jumper%20in%20the%20world.|title=The Greatest Day in Track & Field: 50 Years Ago, Jesse Owens Had an Afternoon Like No One Else|work=Los Angeles Times|quote=In the New York Times, Owens' day of days was the No. 4-story, behind crew and horse races, and a golf tournament. Ruth was the No. 11-story on Page 1, at the bottom of the page.|date=May 25, 1985|access-date=March 13, 2021}}</ref> On that day, Owens battled through a lower back injury and set five [[world records]] and tied a sixth in a span of 45 minutes from 3:15–4 p.m. during the [[Big Ten Conference|Big Ten]] meet at [[Ferry Field]] in [[Ann Arbor, Michigan|Ann Arbor]], Michigan.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Benagh |first=Jim |date=1985-05-20 |title=REMEMBERING JESS OWENS'S OTHER BID DAY |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/05/20/sports/remembering-jess-owens-s-other-bid-day.html |access-date=2025-05-17 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> He equaled the world record for the [[100-yard dash]] (9.4 seconds) (not to be confused with the 100-meter dash), and set world records in the [[long jump]] ({{convert|26|ft|8+1/4|in|m|2|disp=or}}, a world record that would last for 25 years); {{convert|220|yd|m|sigfig=4}} sprint (20.3 seconds); and 220-yard [[low hurdles]] (22.6 seconds, becoming the first to break 23 seconds).<ref>{{Cite news |date=1935-05-24 |title=Jesse Owens and the greatest 45 minutes in sport - Olympic News |url=https://www.olympics.com/ioc/news/jesse-owens-and-the-greatest-45-minutes-in-sport |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240816073426/https://olympics.com/ioc/news/jesse-owens-and-the-greatest-45-minutes-in-sport |archive-date=2024-08-16 |access-date=2025-05-11 |work=Olympics.com |language=en}}</ref> Both 220-yard records had also beaten the metric records for [[200 meters]] (flat and hurdles), which counted as two additional world records from the same performances.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Broadbent |first=Rick |date=2020-05-25 |title=The day Jesse Owens set five world records in 45 minutes - and did it all with a bad back |url=https://www.thetimes.com/sport/athletics/article/the-day-jesse-owens-set-five-world-records-in-45-minutes-and-did-it-all-with-a-bad-back-fnnsdzwb3?region=global |access-date=2025-05-11 |website=www.thetimes.com |language=en}}</ref><ref name=Schwartz/> In 2005, [[University of Central Florida]] professor of sports history Richard C. Crepeau chose these wins on one day as the most impressive athletic achievement since 1850.<ref>{{cite news |first=Lacey|last=Rose|url=https://www.forbes.com/2005/11/18/athletic_performance_olympics_cx_lr_1118experts_print.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051124232052/http://www.forbes.com/2005/11/18/athletic_performance_olympics_cx_lr_1118experts_print.html|archive-date=November 24, 2005|title=The Single Greatest Athletic Achievement|date=November 18, 2005|work=Forbes.com}}</ref>

'''1936 Big Ten Championships'''

At the 1936 Big Ten Championships, Owens dominated the competition, winning the long jump, 100-yard dash, 220-yard dash, and [[100 metres hurdles|100-yard low hurdles]]. With these victories, he concluded his Big Ten Championship career undefeated—nine titles in nine events.{{efn|In addition to winning four titles apiece in both the 1935 and 1936 [[Big Ten Conference|Big Ten]] Outdoor Championships, Owens finished first in the [[60-yard dash]] at the 1935 Big Ten Indoor Championships.|name=c}}<ref name=":8" />

===USA Track and Field Championships===
At the [[1934 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships]], Owens captured the long jump gold with a world-record leap of {{cvt|25|ft|3+1/8|in}}.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Features |first=Amy Meaney in |last2=Events |date=2016-08-09 |title=Jesse Owens at the 1934 Amateur Athletic Union Track and Field Championships |url=https://digital.library.sc.edu/blogs/mirc/2016/08/09/jesse-owens-at-the-1934-amateur-athletic-union-track-and-field-championships/ |access-date=2025-05-12 |website=Moving Image Research Collections (MIRC) |language=en-US}}</ref> Two years later, at his final appearance at the [[USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships|Outdoor Championships]] in [[1936 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships|1936]], he shattered the long jump world record once again with a remarkable jump of 26 feet, 8¼ inches. That same meet, he also set a new championship record in the 100 meters, clocking in at 10.4 seconds.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=YOq7cyQ8DQc |title=1936 Olympics. Track and Field Jesse Owens National AAU Championships |date=2011-03-31 |last=My Footage |access-date=2025-05-12 |via=YouTube}}</ref> Over the course of his career at these championships, Owens amassed a total of six gold medals—five in the long jump and one in the 100 meters.<ref name=":9" />

===1936 Berlin Summer Olympics===
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-R96374, Berlin, Olympiade, Jesse Owens beim Weitsprung crop.jpg|left|thumb|215px|Owens competing in the long jump at the [[1936 Summer Olympics]] in [[Berlin]]]]

On December 4, 1935, [[NAACP]] Secretary [[Walter Francis White]] wrote a letter to Owens, but never sent it.<ref>[https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/naacp/the-great-depression.html "NAACP: A Century in the Fight for Freedom"]. NAACP Collection, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress (082.00.00),</ref> He was trying to dissuade Owens from taking part in the [[1936 Summer Olympics]] in [[Nazi Germany]], arguing that an African American should not promote a racist regime after what his race had suffered at the hands of racists in his own country. In the months prior to the Games, a movement gained momentum in favor of a boycott. Owens was convinced by the NAACP to declare: "If there are minorities in Germany who are being discriminated against, the United States should withdraw from the 1936 Olympics." Yet he and others eventually took part after [[Avery Brundage]], president of the [[American Olympic Committee]] branded them "un-American agitators".<ref>[https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/introduction/owens/ "American Experience, Jesse Owens"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170210111042/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/introduction/owens/ |date=February 10, 2017 }}. PBS</ref>

[[File:Olympic Village house of Jesse Owens.jpg|thumb|2015 photograph of the U.S. track team house at the 1936 Berlin Olympic Village]]
[[File:Jesse Owen's Room in Berlin 1936 Olympic Village.jpg|thumb|2015 photograph of Jesse Owens's room in the 1936 Olympic Village in Berlin]]

In 1936, Owens and his United States teammates sailed on the [[SS Manhattan (1931)|SS ''Manhattan'']] and arrived in Germany to compete at the Summer Olympics in Berlin. Just before the competitions, founder of [[Adidas]] athletic shoe company [[Adi Dassler]] visited Owens in the Olympic village and persuaded Owens to wear Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik shoes; this was the first sponsorship for a male African American athlete.<ref name="rediff">{{cite web|url=http://in.rediff.com/sports/2005/nov/08adi.htm|title=How Adidas and Puma were born|date=November 8, 2005|publisher=In.rediff.com|access-date=June 15, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080117230846/http://in.rediff.com/sports/2005/nov/08adi.htm|archive-date=January 17, 2008}}</ref>

On August 3, Owens won the 100 m dash<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zq4DJtLgbHk| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211030/zq4DJtLgbHk| archive-date=October 30, 2021|title=Jesse Owens at Berlin 1936 – Epic Olympic Moments|last=Olympic|date=December 9, 2015 |via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref> with a time of 10.3 seconds, defeating a teammate and a college friend<ref name="Edmondson"/> [[Ralph Metcalfe]] by a tenth of a second and defeating [[Tinus Osendarp]] of the Netherlands by two-tenths of a second.

On August 4, he won the long jump with a leap of {{convert|8.06|m|ftin}} (3¼ inches short of his own world record). He initially credited this achievement to the technical advice that he received from [[Luz Long]], the German competitor whom he defeated,<ref name="Schwartz" /> but later admitted that this was not true, as he and Long did not meet until after the competition was over.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=111878822|title=Was Jesse Owens' 1936 Long-Jump Story A Myth?|last=Goldman|first=Tom|date=August 14, 2009|publisher=NPR|access-date=July 15, 2022}}</ref>

On August 5, he won the 200 meter sprint with a time of 20.7 seconds, defeating fellow American teammate [[Mack Robinson (athlete)|Mack Robinson]] (the older brother of [[Jackie Robinson]]).

On August 9, Owens won his fourth gold medal in the 4 × 100 m sprint relay when head coach [[Lawson Robertson]] replaced Jewish-American sprinters [[Marty Glickman]] and [[Sam Stoller]] with Owens and Ralph Metcalfe,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.awesomestories.com/asset/view/156017|title=Controversy at the 1936 Olympics|website=AwesomeStories.com}}</ref> who teamed with [[Frank Wykoff]] and [[Foy Draper]] to set a world record of 39.8 seconds in the event.<ref>[https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/introduction/owens/ PBS: American Experience. Jessie Owens.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170210111042/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/introduction/owens/ |date=February 10, 2017 }} (Accessed: May 2, 2012)</ref> Owens had initially protested the last-minute switch, but assistant coach [[Dean Cromwell]] said to him, "You'll do as you are told."{{citation needed|date=April 2023}} Owens's record-breaking performance of four gold medals was not equaled until [[Carl Lewis]] won gold medals in the same events at the [[1984 Summer Olympics]] in [[Los Angeles]]. Owens had set the world record in the long jump with a leap of {{convert|8.13|m|ftin|abbr=on}} in 1935, the year before the Berlin Olympics, and this record stood for 25 years until it was broken in 1960 by countryman [[Ralph Boston]]. Coincidentally, Owens was a spectator at the [[1960 Summer Olympics]] in Rome when Boston took the gold medal in the long jump.

The long-jump victory is documented, along with many other 1936 events, in the 1938 film ''[[Olympia (1938 film)|Olympia]]'' by [[Leni Riefenstahl]]. On August 1, 1936, Nazi Germany's leader, [[Adolf Hitler]], shook hands with the German victors only and then left the stadium. International Olympic Committee president [[Henri de Baillet-Latour]] insisted that Hitler greet every medalist or none at all. Hitler opted for the latter and skipped all further medal presentations.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=vFYti_djZYEC&pg=PT199 ''Berlin Games: How Hitler Stole the Olympic Dream''] (2012) Guy Walters, Hachette UK {{ISBN|978-1-84854-749-0}}</ref><ref>Rick Shenkman, [http://hnn.us/articles/571.html ''Adolf Hitler, Jesse Owens and the Olympics Myth of 1936''] February 13, 2002, from History News Network (article excerpted from Rick Shenkman's ''Legends, Lies and Cherished Myths of American History'', William Morrow & Co, 1988 {{ISBN|0-688-06580-5}})</ref>

Owens ran his first race on Day 2 of the Olympics (August 2). That day, He ran in the first (10:30 a.m.) and second (3:00 p.m.) qualifying rounds for the 100-meter final. He tied the Olympic and world record in the first race and broke them in the second race, but the new time was not recognized, because it was wind-assisted.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Official Report Volume 2, The XIth Olympic Games, Berlin, Organisation Committee for the 11th Olympiad, Berlin: Wilhelm Limpert, 1936, pp. 617–618 |url=http://library.la84.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1936/1936spart2.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150217013945/http://library.la84.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1936/1936spart2.pdf |archive-date=February 17, 2015 |access-date=June 16, 2017}}</ref> Later the same day, Owens's African-American team-mate [[Cornelius Johnson (athlete)|Cornelius Johnson]] won gold in the high jump final (which began at 5:00 p.m.) with a new Olympic record of 2.03 meters.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://library.la84.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1936/1936spart3.pdf|title=Official Report Volume 3, The XIth Olympic Games, Berlin, 1936 |author=Organisation Committee for the 11th Olympiad |location=Berlin |publisher=Wilhelm Limpert |date=1936 |page=664 |access-date=June 16, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171022200250/http://library.la84.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1936/1936spart3.pdf|archive-date=October 22, 2017}}</ref> Hitler did not publicly congratulate any of the medal winners this time; even so, the communist New York City newspaper the ''[[Daily Worker]]'' claimed Hitler received all the track winners except Johnson and left the stadium as a "deliberate snub" after watching Johnson's winning jump.<ref>{{cite news |title=Negroes Set New Records in Olympics |work=Daily Worker |date=August 3, 1936 |page=3}} A copy of this newspaper is available on the website [[Fultonhistory.com|Fulton History]] and can be located with a simple word search.</ref> Hitler was subsequently accused of failing to acknowledge Owens (who won gold medals on August 3, 4 (two), and 9) or shake his hand. Owens responded to these claims at the time:

<blockquote>Hitler had a certain time to come to the stadium and a certain time to leave. It happened he had to leave before the victory ceremony after the 100 meters [race began at 5:45 p.m.<ref>{{citation |url=http://library.la84.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1936/1936spart2.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150217013945/http://library.la84.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1936/1936spart2.pdf|archive-date=February 17, 2015 |title=Official Report Volume 2, The XIth Olympic Games Berlin, 1936 |author=Organisation Committee for the 11th Olympiad |location=Berlin |publisher=Wilhelm Limpert |date=1936 |page=619}}</ref>]. But before he left I was on my way to a broadcast and passed near his box. He waved at me and I waved back. I think it was bad taste to criticize the "man of the hour" in another country.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=zsoaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=IkwEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1814,6536771&dq=jesse-owens+hitler&hl=en |title=Owens Arrives With Kind Words For All Officials |work=The Pittsburgh Press |date=August 24, 1936 |via=News.google.co.uk. |access-date=2011-09-15}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Owens, Back, Gets Hearty Reception |first=Louis |last=Effrat |work=The New York Times |date=August 25, 1936 |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1936/08/25/87983898.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200109220748/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1936/08/25/87983898.pdf |archive-date=2020-01-09 |url-status=live |page=25}}</ref></blockquote>

In an article dated August 4, 1936, the African-American newspaper editor [[Robert L. Vann]] describes witnessing Hitler "salute" Owens for having won gold in the 100 m sprint (August 3):

{{blockquote|And then&nbsp;... wonder of wonders&nbsp;... I saw Herr Adolph [''sic''] Hitler, salute this lad. I looked on with a heart which beat proudly as the lad who was crowned king of the 100 meters event, get an ovation the like of which I have never heard before. I saw Jesse Owens greeted by the Grand Chancellor of this country as a brilliant sun peeped out through the clouds. I saw a vast crowd of some 85,000 or 90,000 people stand up and cheer him to the echo.<ref>"This athletic contest between the leading nations of the country, is a spectacle of spectacles! It's the greatest thing of its kind I've ever seen. Sunday, I witnessed 110,000 people cheer two Negro athletes, because they were supreme in their field. Monday, I saw another vast crowd of close to 100,000 people go "literally crazy" as they saw Jesse Owens, running with the effortless speed of an antelope, completely dominate his field to win "going away" in the 100 meters, with Ralph Metcalfe of Marquette University placing second. And then&nbsp;... wonder of wonders&nbsp;... [sic] I saw Herr Adolph Hitler, salute this lad. I looked on with a heart which beat proudly as the lad who was crowned king of the 100 meters event, get an ovation the like of which I have never heard before. I saw Jesse Owens greeted by the Grand Chancellor of this country as a brilliant sun peeped out through the clouds. I saw a vast crowd of some 85,000 or 90,000 people stand up and cheer him to the echo. And they were mostly Germans! Make no mistake about it. These German people are mighty fine. They have a spirit of sportsmanship and fair play which overrides the color-barrier. This week, as Negro athletes have sent the Start and Stripes of the United States shooting to the top of the flag-pole on three different occasions, I have observed the spirit, not only of the German people, but of those competing from foreign countries. And I've found out, that in the world of sport, where personal perfection is the measuring rod of achievement, color does not count.| {{cite news |title=Hitler Salutes Jesse Owens [Aug. 4 – (By Cable)] |author-link=Robert L. Vann |last=Vann |first=Robert L. |work=[[Pittsburgh Courier]] |date=August 8, 1936 |page=1}} A copy of this newspaper is available on the website [[Fultonhistory.com|Fulton History]] and can be located with a simple word search. The article is partially quoted in {{cite book |first=Jeremy |last=Schaap |title=Triumph: The Untold Story of Jesse Owens and Hitler's Olympics |location=New York |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Co.|date=2007 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=e-SvBgAAQBAJ&dq=%22Hitler+Salutes+Jesse+Owens%22&pg=PA194 194]}}</ref>}}

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-G00630, Sommerolympiade, Siegerehrung Weitsprung.jpg|thumb|267px|Owens salutes the American flag after winning the long jump at the [[1936 Summer Olympics]]. (L–R) [[Naoto Tajima]], Owens, [[Luz Long]].]]

In 2014, [[Eric Brown (pilot)|Eric Brown]], British fighter pilot and test pilot, aged 17 in 1936 and later becoming the [[Fleet Air Arm]]'s most decorated pilot,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://library.paisley.ac.uk/services/specialcoll/putnam/ptn97.htm|title=Paisley University Library Special Collections – Putnam Aeronautical 1997|access-date=November 4, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090304030924/http://library.paisley.ac.uk/services/specialcoll/putnam/ptn97.htm|archive-date=March 4, 2009}}</ref> stated in a [[BBC]] documentary: "I actually witnessed Hitler shaking hands with Jesse Owens and congratulating him on what he had achieved".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b045pbq2|title=BBC Two – Britain's Greatest Pilot: The Extraordinary Story of Captain Winkle Brown (at 05:35 of the documentary)|publisher=BBC|date=January 1, 1970|access-date=June 1, 2014}}</ref> Additionally, an article in ''[[The Baltimore Sun]]'' in August 1936 reported that Hitler sent Owens a commemorative inscribed cabinet photograph of himself.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/baltsun/access/1673318912.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Aug+18%2C+1936&author=&pub=The+Sun+%281837-1985%29&desc=OWENS+WEIGHS+HIS+PRO+OFFERS&pqatl=google |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120725101807/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/baltsun/access/1673318912.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Aug+18%2C+1936&author=&pub=The+Sun+%281837-1985%29&desc=OWENS+WEIGHS+HIS+PRO+OFFERS&pqatl=google |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 25, 2012 |title=Owens Weighs His Pro Offers |work=The Baltimore Sun |date=August 18, 1936 |via=Pqasb.pqarchiver.com |access-date=September 15, 2011}}</ref> Later, on October 15, 1936, Owens repeated this claim when he addressed an audience of African Americans at a Republican rally in [[Kansas City]], remarking: "Hitler didn't snub me—it was our president who snubbed me. The president didn't even send me a telegram."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=9kxhAAAAIBAJ&pg=6051,1761645&hl=en|newspaper=St. Joseph News-Press|title='Snub' From Roosevelt |date=October 16, 1936|access-date=November 12, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/triumphuntoldsto00jere|url-access=registration |quote=The president didn't even send me a telegram.|first=Jeremy|last=Schaap|title=Triumph: The Untold Story of Jesse Owens and Hitler's Olympics|page=[https://archive.org/details/triumphuntoldsto00jere/page/211 211]|location=New York|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|year=2007|isbn=978-0-618-68822-7|access-date=February 8, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1532&dat=19361010&id=prg9AAAAIBAJ&pg=3031,1091811&hl=en |newspaper=The Afro American |title=Owens Nearly Mobbed as He Speaks Here |date=October 10, 1936 |access-date=November 15, 2015 |via=Google News Archive}}</ref>

Owens's success at the games caused consternation for Hitler, who was using them to show the world a resurgent Nazi Germany.<ref name="Bachrach">{{cite book|last=Bachrach|first=Susan D. |url=https://archive.org/details/naziolympicsberl00bach|title=The Nazi Olympics: Berlin 1936|year=2000 |publisher=Little, Brown, and Company |isbn=0-316-07087-4|url-access=registration}}</ref> He and other government officials had hoped that German athletes would dominate the games.<ref name="Bachrach" /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/jesse-owens-1913--1980-he-was-once-the-fastest-runner-in-the-world-128523103/116594.html |title=Jesse Owens, 1913–1980: He Was Once the Fastest Runner in the World|date=August 27, 2011|work=Voice of America|access-date=February 26, 2015}}</ref> Nazi minister [[Albert Speer]] wrote that Hitler "was highly annoyed by the series of triumphs by the marvelous colored American runner, Jesse Owens. People whose antecedents came from the jungle were primitive, Hitler said with a shrug; their physiques were stronger than those of civilized whites and hence should be excluded from future games."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sites.duke.edu/wcwp/research-projects/football-and-politics-in-europe-1930s-1950s/hitler-and-nazi-philosophy/|title=Hitler, Nazi Philosophy and Sport|last1=Anspach|first1=Emma|last2=Almog|first2=Hilah|year=2009|website=Duke.edu|access-date=March 23, 2014}}</ref>

In Germany, Owens had been allowed to travel with and stay in the same hotels as whites, at a time when [[African Americans]] in many parts of the United States had to stay in [[Racial segregation in the United States|segregated]] hotels that accommodated only blacks.<ref name="Olympic moments">{{cite news|title=50 stunning Olympic moments No6: Jesse Owens's four gold medals, 1936|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/london-2012-olympics-blog/2011/dec/21/jesse-owens-four-gold-medals|newspaper=The Guardian|date=March 20, 2016}}</ref> When Owens returned to the United States, he was greeted in New York City by Mayor [[Fiorello La Guardia]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N02ibLVOVzQ | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211030/N02ibLVOVzQ| archive-date=October 30, 2021|title=Berlin 1936 – Olympics – Olympia – Jesse Owens back in New York – confetti parade |last=Filmschätze aus Köln – vom Rhein – Weltfilmerbe |date=March 15, 2016|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref> During a [[Manhattan]] [[ticker-tape parade]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4b2PaKoET4| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211030/L4b2PaKoET4| archive-date=October 30, 2021|title=A motorcade carrying Olympic hero Jesse Owens passes crowded New York streets dur ... HD Stock Footage|last=CriticalPast|date=June 16, 2014|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref> in his honor along Broadway's [[Canyon of Heroes]], someone handed Owens a paper bag. Owens paid it little mind until the parade concluded. When he opened it up, he found that the bag contained $10,000 in cash ({{Inflation|US|10000|1936|fmt=eq|r=-3}}). Owens's wife Ruth later said: "And he [Owens] didn't know who was good enough to do a thing like that. And with all the excitement around, he didn't pick it up right away. He didn't pick it up until he got ready to get out of the car".<ref name="latimes">{{cite web |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-jun-30-me-17013-story.html|title=Ruth Owens; Widow of Legendary Olympian|date=June 30, 2001|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=December 22, 2013}}</ref>

After the parade, Owens was not permitted to enter through the main doors of the [[Waldorf Astoria New York]] and instead forced to travel up to the reception honoring him in a freight elevator.<ref name="Olympic moments" /><ref name=schwartz>{{cite web | last = Schwartz | first = Larry | title=Owens pierced a myth|url=https://www.espn.com/sportscentury/features/00016393.html| year=2007}}</ref> President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] (FDR) never invited Jesse Owens to the White House following his triumphs at the Olympic Games.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HwTPk00QMHIC&q=roosevelt+jesse+owens&pg=PA210 |title=New Deal Or Raw Deal?: How FDR's Economic Legacy Has Damaged America |page=210 |author=Burton W. Folsom |publisher=Simon & Schuster |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-4165-9237-2 |access-date=February 8, 2015}}</ref> When the Democrats bid for his support, Owens rejected those overtures: as a staunch Republican, he endorsed [[Alf Landon]], Roosevelt's Republican opponent in the [[1936 United States presidential election|1936 presidential race]].<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Owens Will Talk in Landon Drive |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |location=New York City |date=September 3, 1936 |page=10 }}{{subscription required}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Owens Jumps into Political Ring; Landon for President |url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86092050/1936-09-04/ed-1/seq-1/ |access-date=April 23, 2020 |work=[[The McDowell Times]] (Keystone, West Virginia) |date=September 4, 1936 |quote=... the most important thing, I think, is to elect Governor Alfred M. Landon president. His election will be good for America and for the people of the colored race.}}</ref> Owens was employed to do campaign outreach for African American votes for Landon in the [[1936 United States presidential election|1936 presidential election]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Streissguth |first=Thomas |title=Jesse Owens |year=2005 |publisher=Twenty-First Century Books |isbn=0-8225-3070-8 |page=70}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor=Magill, Frank N. |title=The 20th Century O–Z: Dictionary of World Biography |year=2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-59362-8 |page=[https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofworl0000unse/page/2863 2863] |url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofworl0000unse/page/2863 }}</ref>

==Life after the Olympics==
[[File:Jesse Owens 1971 Ajman stamp.jpg|thumb|upright|Owens on a 1971 [[United Arab Emirates|UAE]] stamp]]

Owens was quoted saying the secret behind his success was, "I let my feet spend as little time on the ground as possible. From the air, fast down, and from the ground, fast up."<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Altman |first=Alex |url=http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1917099,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090821111755/http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1917099,00.html |archive-date=August 21, 2009 |title=Usain Bolt: The World's Fastest Human |magazine=Time |date=August 18, 2009 |access-date=June 15, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=ThinkExist.com Quotations |url=http://thinkexist.com/quotation/i-let-my-feet-spend-as-little-time-on-the-ground/409051.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120714143337/http://thinkexist.com/quotation/i-let-my-feet-spend-as-little-time-on-the-ground/409051.html |archive-date=July 14, 2012 |title=Jesse Owens quotes |publisher=Thinkexist.com |access-date=June 15, 2010}}</ref>

After the 1936 Olympics, [[Avery Brundage]] organized a grueling European exhibition tour to profit the [[Amateur Athletic Union|AAU]] and [[United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee|USOC]], both of which he led. Owens, exhausted but pressured to compete, ran multiple races across Europe with little rest, food, or support. Despite such treatment, Brundage continued booking events across [[Scandinavia]]. Owens, drained and frustrated, eventually refused to continue. Brundage retaliated by having Owens permanently suspended from amateur competition which immediately ended his career. Owens was angry and stated that "A fellow desires something for himself." As Ruth Owens later recalled, "That Avery Brundage feller tore a big hole inside Jesse."<ref name="bbc2011">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/606/A76754028|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160813005819/http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/606/A76754028|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 13, 2016| title=An Emperor among Professionals|last=Riley|first=Liam|publisher=BBC |access-date=May 17, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=How did it come to this? {{!}} Sport {{!}} The Observer |url=https://www.theguardian.com/observer/osm/story/0,,362001,00.html |access-date=2025-05-16 |website=www.theguardian.com}}</ref> Owens argued that the [[Racism in the United States|racial discrimination]] he had faced throughout his athletic career, such as not being eligible for scholarships in college and therefore being unable to take classes between training and working to pay his way, meant he had to give up on amateur athletics in pursuit of financial gain elsewhere.<ref name="Entine">{{cite book|last1=Entine|first1=Jon|title=Taboo: Why Black Athletes Dominate Sports and why We are Afraid to Talk about it|url=https://archive.org/details/taboowhyblackath00entirich|url-access=registration|date=2000|publisher=PublicAffairs|page=[https://archive.org/details/taboowhyblackath00entirich/page/187 187]}}</ref>

After returning to the [[United States]] following his Olympic success, racism back home led to difficulty earning a living despite his international acclaim. Owens struggled to find work and took on menial jobs as a gas station attendant, playground janitor,<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 3, 2023 |title=Jesse Owens {{!}} Biography, Olympics, Medals, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jesse-Owens |access-date=June 15, 2023 |website=Encyclopædia Britannica |language=en}}</ref> and manager of a dry cleaning firm and at times resorted to racing against motorbikes, cars, trucks and horses for a cash prize.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |date=March 30, 2021 |title=From horse-racer to speech writer: Jesse Owens' life after the Olympic Games |url=https://olympics.com/en/news/from-horse-racer-to-speech-writer-jesse-owens-life-after-the-olympic-games |access-date=June 14, 2023 |website=Olympics.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.olympic.org/news/from-horse-racer-to-speech-writer-jesse-owens-life-after-the-olympic-games|title=From horse-racer to speech writer: Jesse Owens' life after the Olympic Games|date=April 11, 2017|website=olympic.org}}</ref> <blockquote>People say it was degrading for an Olympic champion to run against a horse, but what was I supposed to do? I had four gold medals, but you can't eat four gold medals.<ref name=":4" /> </blockquote>Jesse Owens had broken racial barriers and done things that no other man had done before him. Yet after he returned home from the [[Olympic Games]], he was not greeted with the glory and praise that White Olympians had received. Owens stated, "No one had offered me a job" and "I had jumped farther and run faster than any man ever had before, and it left me with next to nothing."<ref name=":02">Farley, A. P. (2012). The Bitter Tears of Jesse Owens. ''Berkeley La Raza Law Journal'', ''22'', 231–256.</ref> Jesse wasn't being treated like an Olympic gold medalist but instead, just like any other African American at that time. Another quote said "So I sold myself into a new kind of slavery. I was no longer a proud man who had won four Olympic gold medals. I was a spectacle, a freak who made his living by competing—dishonestly—against dumb animals."<ref name=":02" /> Despite his athletic triumphs, he was not spared from poverty and was forced to take on degrading work just to afford basic necessities. 

Owens bridged the gap between racial disenfranchisement and opportunity. His Olympic medals showed the Jim Crow South and the world what was possible when African Americans were given a fair chance. Though many resisted racial integration, Owens served as a key figure for the beginning building blocks of the civil rights movement.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Evans |first=Tyson |date=2025-02-16 |title=Jesse Owens: Defying Racism, Shattering Barriers, and Inspiring Generations |url=https://abc3340.com/news/black-history-month/jesse-owens-defying-racism-shattering-barriers-and-inspiring-generations |access-date=2025-05-14 |website=WBMA |language=en}}</ref>

Owens was banned from attending amateur events to enhance his visibility, and soon discovered that commercial opportunities had almost completely dried up. In 1937, he briefly toured with a twelve-piece jazz band under contract with Consolidated Artists but found it unfulfilling. He also made appearances at baseball games and other events.<ref>Jack Neely, "[http://www.knoxmercury.com/2016/08/10/fastest-bandleader-world/ The Fastest Bandleader in the World]," ''Knoxville Mercury'', August 10, 2016.</ref>

Owens was involved politically and lent his support to the Republican Party and [[Al Landon|Alf Landon]] in the [[1936 United States Presidential Election]], saying that [[Adolf Hitler]] congratulated him but that he was snubbed by President [[Franklin Roosevelt]] after winning a gold medal.<ref>{{Cite magazine|title=National Affairs: Owens for Landon|magazine=Time |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,756596,00.html|date=September 14, 1936}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Bracken|first=Haley|title=Was Jesse Owens Snubbed by Adolf Hitler at the Berlin Olympics?|url=https://www.britannica.com/story/was-jesse-owens-snubbed-by-adolf-hitler-at-the-berlin-olympics}}</ref> In 1942, [[Willis Ward]]—a friend and former competitor from the [[University of Michigan]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Eddie Tolan, Willis Ward, and Jesse Owens at 1935 Big Ten Track Meet at Ferry Field · Willis Ward: More than The Game · Exhibits at the Bentley |url=https://exhibits.bentley.umich.edu/s/willisward/item/533 |access-date=June 15, 2023 |website=exhibits.bentley.umich.edu}}</ref>—who was then working at [[Ford Motor Company]] as Assistant Personnel Director, invited Owens to [[Detroit]]. Ward worked for the [[Ford Motor Company|Ford Motor Company's]] "ad hoc civil rights division, serving as the liaison between black and white workers"<ref>{{Cite web |last=Post |first=The Livingston |date=January 22, 2017 |title=Decency, justice and the Michigan-OSU rivalry: The story of Jesse Owens and Gerald Ford |url=https://thelivingstonpost.com/decency-justice-and-the-michigan-osu-rivalry-the-story-of-jesse-owens-and-gerald-ford/ |access-date=June 15, 2023 |website=The Livingston Post.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Willis Ward and Jesse Owens, Ford Motor Company, November 23, 1942 – The Henry Ford |url=https://www.thehenryford.org/collections-and-research/digital-collections/artifact/177905/ |access-date=June 15, 2023 |website=thehenryford.org |language=en}}</ref> and was an advocate for African American employees in the personnel department. Owens wound up replacing him, and remained with Ford until 1946.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Willis Ward and Jesse Owens, Ford Motor Company, November 23, 1942 – The Henry Ford |url=https://www.thehenryford.org/collections-and-research/digital-collections/artifact/177905/ |access-date=June 15, 2023 |website=thehenryford.org |language=en}}</ref> In the late 1940s, Owens moved his family to Chicago and opened his own [[public relations]] agency.

In 1946, Owens collaborated with [[Abe Saperstein]] to establish the [[West Coast Negro Baseball League]], where he served as Vice-President and owned the [[Portland Rosebuds (baseball)|Portland (Oregon) Rosebuds]] franchise in Oregon.<ref name="oba20053">{{cite encyclopedia |title=West Coast Baseball Association |encyclopedia=Organizing Black America: An Encyclopedia of African American Associations |publisher=[[BookRags]] |url=http://www.bookrags.com/tandf/west-coast-baseball-association-tf/ |access-date=July 31, 2010 |date=2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100920063619/http://www.bookrags.com/tandf/west-coast-baseball-association-tf |archive-date=September 20, 2010}}</ref> He toured with the Rosebuds, sometimes entertaining the audience in between [[Doubleheader (baseball)|doubleheader games]] by competing in races against horses.<ref name="elpaso2010">{{cite web | title= Sun City home to the Negro Leagues for one weekend | url= http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_15493851 | first= Milan | last= Simonich | date= July 12, 2010 | work= [[El Paso Times]] | department= Hidden El Paso | access-date= July 31, 2010 | archive-url= https://archive.today/20130208044418/http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_15493851 | archive-date= February 8, 2013}}</ref> The WCBA disbanded after only two months.<ref name="oba2005">{{cite encyclopedia |title=West Coast Baseball Association |encyclopedia=Organizing Black America: An Encyclopedia of African American Associations |publisher=[[BookRags]] |url=http://www.bookrags.com/tandf/west-coast-baseball-association-tf/ |access-date=July 31, 2010 |date=2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100920063619/http://www.bookrags.com/tandf/west-coast-baseball-association-tf |archive-date=September 20, 2010}}</ref><ref name="elpaso2010" />

Owens helped promote the [[exploitation film]] ''[[Mom and Dad (1945 film)|Mom and Dad]]'' in African American neighborhoods.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/27355|title=Mom and Dad (1945)|website=American Film Institute|access-date=June 14, 2018}}</ref> He tried to make a living as a sports promoter, essentially an entertainer. He would give local sprinters a 10- or 20-yard start and still beat them in the 100-yd (91-m) dash. He also challenged and defeated racehorses; as he revealed later, the trick was to race a high-strung [[Thoroughbred]] that would be frightened by the starter's shotgun and give him a bad jump. On the lack of opportunities, Owens added, "There was no television, no big advertising, no endorsements then. Not for a black man, anyway."<ref name="Entine" />

He traveled to [[Rome]] for the [[1960 Summer Olympics]], where he met the 1960 100 meters champion [[Armin Hary]] of Germany, who had defeated American [[Dave Sime]] in a [[photo finish]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.gettyimages.ca/detail/news-photo/athletics-legend-jesse-owens-poses-and-jokes-with-his-news-photo/516803630#athletics-legend-jesse-owens-poses-and-jokes-with-his-fellow-armin-picture-id516803630|title=US athletics legend Jesse Owens (R) poses and jokes with his f ...|date=March 21, 2016 |access-date=July 28, 2017}}</ref>

During spring training in 1965, Owens was hired by the [[New York Mets]] as a running instructor.<ref>{{cite web |title=Jesse Owens Was (Briefly) (Really!) a Coach for the Mets&nbsp;– Who2 |url=https://www.who2.com/jesse-owens-was-briefly-really-a-coach-for-the-mets/ |website=who2.com}}</ref>

Owens ran a [[dry cleaning]] business and worked as a gas station attendant to earn a living, but he eventually filed for [[bankruptcy]]. In 1966, he was successfully prosecuted for [[tax evasion]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Jesse Owens Is Fined in Tax Case|work=The Times-News|agency=United Press International|date=February 2, 1966|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-vIZAAAAIBAJ&pg=2316,2150242|access-date=August 10, 2011}}</ref> At rock bottom, he was aided in beginning his rehabilitation. Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower enlisted Owens as a [[goodwill ambassador]] in 1955 and sent the world-renowned track star to India, the Philippines, and Malaya to promote physical exercise as well as tout the cause of American freedom and economic opportunity in the developing world. He would continue his goodwill tours in the 1960s and 1970s. Although he lost his patronage job with the Illinois Youth Commission in 1960, Owens continued his product endorsement work for such corporations as Quaker Oats, Sears and Roebuck, and Johnson & Johnson. Owens traveled the world and spoke to companies such as the [[Ford Motor Company]] and stakeholders such as the [[United States Olympic Committee]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Jesse Owens|url=https://www.blackhistorymonth.org.uk/article/section/sporting-heroes/jesse-owens/|access-date=August 10, 2020|website=Black History Month 2020|date=February 14, 2008 |language=en}}</ref> In 1972, he and his wife retired to Arizona.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Metcalfe |first=Jeff |title=Track hero Jesse Owens lived his latter years in Phoenix |url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/olympics/2016/02/12/track-hero-jesse-owens-lived-his-latter-years-phoenix/80256486/ |access-date=February 23, 2023 |website=The Arizona Republic |language=en-US}}</ref>

Owens initially refused to support the [[1968 Olympics Black Power salute|black power salute]] by [[African-American]] sprinters [[Tommie Smith]] and [[John Carlos]] at the [[1968 Summer Olympics]]. He told them:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jesseowens.com/quotes/|title=Jesse Owens: Olympic Legend-quotes|access-date=May 8, 2009}}</ref>

<blockquote>The black fist is a meaningless symbol. When you open it, you have nothing but fingers—weak, empty fingers. The only time the black fist has significance is when there's money inside. There's where the power lies.</blockquote>

Four years later in his 1972 book ''I Have Changed'', he revised his opinion:

<blockquote>I realized now that militancy in the best sense of the word was the only answer where the black man was concerned, that any black man who wasn't a militant in 1970 was either blind or a coward.</blockquote>

Owens traveled to [[Munich]] for the [[1972 Summer Olympics]] as a special guest of the West German government,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-aug-08-1972-jesse-owens-at-the-olympic-games-in-munich-world-famous-69467677.html?pv=1&stamp=2&imageid=C6CC95AC-6A8C-4AEE-9181-4BC5D0F4AA24&p=90011&n=0&orientation=0&pn=1&searchtype=0&IsFromSearch=1&srch=foo%3dbar%26st%3d0%26pn%3d1%26ps%3d100%26sortby%3d2%26resultview%3dsortbyPopular%26npgs%3d0%26qt%3dolympic%2520games%2520berlin%25201936%26qt_raw%3dolympic%2520games%2520berlin%25201936%26lic%3d3%26mr%3d0%26pr%3d0%26ot%3d0%26creative%3d%26ag%3d0%26hc%3d0%26pc%3d%26blackwhite%3d%26cutout%3d%26tbar%3d1%26et%3d0x000000000000000000000%26vp%3d0%26loc%3d0%26imgt%3d0%26dtfr%3d%26dtto%3d%26size%3d0xFF%26archive%3d1%26groupid%3d%26pseudoid%3d%26a%3d%26cdid%3d%26cdsrt%3d%26name%3d%26qn%3d%26apalib%3d0%26apalic%3d%26lightbox%3d%26gname%3d%26gtype%3d%26xstx%3d0%26simid%3d%26saveQry%3d%26editorial%3d1%26nu%3d%26t%3d%26edoptin%3d%26customgeoip%3d%26cap%3d1%26cbstore%3d1%26vd%3d0%26lb%3d%26fi%3d2|title=Stock Photo&nbsp;– Aug. 08, 1972&nbsp;– Jesse Owens at the Olympic games in Munich.: World famous American coloured athlete Jesse Owens. Who won Gold medals in the 1936 Olympic games in berlin is at |access-date=July 28, 2017}}</ref> meeting West German Chancellor [[Willy Brandt]] and former boxer [[Max Schmeling]].<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Browsing Jesse Owens Collection by Subject 'Munich Olympics' |website=The Ohio State University |hdl=1811/53219 |url=https://kb.osu.edu/handle/1811/53219/browse?type=subject&value=Munich+Olympics}}</ref>

From 1974 to 1977, Owens served on the [[Boys Town (organization)|Boys Town]] Board of Directors, frequently meeting with students to share his life experiences and the challenges he overcame.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lynch |first=Thomas |date=2016-02-25 |title=Achievements of Supporters, Alumni Highlight Boys Town's Black History Month Celebration |url=https://www.boystown.org/blog/achievements-of-supporters-alumni-highlight-boys-town-s-black-history-month-celebration |access-date=2025-05-15 |website=Boys Town |language=en-us}}</ref>

A few months before his death, Owens had unsuccessfully tried to convince [[President of the United States|President]] [[Jimmy Carter]] to withdraw his demand that the United States [[1980 Summer Olympics boycott|boycott the 1980 Moscow Olympics]] in protest of the [[Soviet–Afghan War|Soviet invasion of Afghanistan]]. He argued that the Olympic ideal was supposed to be observed as a time-out from war and that it was above politics.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1980/04/01/jesse-owens/fcc3d038-d015-4f2e-ab36-75867ae859f9/|title=Jesse Owens&nbsp;– Obituary|date=April 1, 1980|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=June 14, 2018}}</ref>

===Death===
[[File:Grave of Jesse Owens (1913–1980) at Oak Woods Cemetery, Chicago 1.jpg|thumb|right|Owens's grave at Oak Woods Cemetery]]

Owens was a pack-a-day [[Tobacco smoking|cigarette smoker]] for 35 years, starting at age 32.<ref name="Nelson2013">{{cite book|author=Murry R. Nelson|title=American Sports: A History of Icons, Idols, and Ideas [4 Volumes]: A History of Icons, Idols, and Ideas|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tfTXAQAAQBAJ&q=jesse+owens+started+smoking+32&pg=PA987|year=2013|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0-313-39753-0|page=987}}</ref> Beginning in December 1979, he was hospitalized on and off with an extremely aggressive and [[drug-resistant]] type of [[lung cancer]]. He died of the disease at age 66 in [[Tucson, Arizona]], on March 31, 1980, with his wife and other family members at his bedside.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0912.html |title=Jesse Owens Dies Of Cancer At 66: Hero of the 1936 Berlin Olympics |work=The New York Times |date=April 1, 1980 |access-date=August 5, 2013}}</ref> He was buried next to the Lake of Memories at [[Oak Woods Cemetery]] in Chicago, near where his children and extended family still lived. The grave is inscribed:
{{Blockquote|Jesse Owens. Olympic Champion. 1936. Athlete and humanitarian. A master of the spirit as well as the mechanics of sports. A winner who knew that winning was not everything. He showed extraordinary love for his family and friends. His achievements have shown us all the promise of America. His faith in America inspired countless others to do their best for themselves and their country. September 12, 1913 – March 31, 1980.}}

President Jimmy Carter issued a tribute to Owens, stating: "Perhaps no athlete better symbolized the human struggle against tyranny, poverty and racial bigotry."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Smith |first=J. Y. |date=April 1, 1980 |title=Olympic Track Great Jesse Owens Is Dead at 66 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1980/04/01/olympic-track-great-jesse-owens-is-dead-at-66/51f3910e-2d63-4370-991c-151a7e86b076/ |access-date=August 14, 2022 |newspaper=The Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref>

==Legacy==
[[File:Jesse Owens figure at Madame Tussauds London (30870323410).jpg|thumb|upright|Waxwork of Owens at [[Madame Tussauds]], London]]
Owens is widely considered one of the greatest [[athletes]] in the history of [[track and field]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Spence |first=Blaine |title=Jesse Owens: One of the Greatest Athletes of All Time |url=https://bleacherreport.com/articles/233873-jessie-owens-one-of-the-greatest-athletes-of-all-time |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=bleacherreport.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Bansal |first=Puneet |title=Jesse Owens, one of the greatest athletes of the last century |url=https://observer.case.edu/jesse-owens-one-of-the-greatest-athletes-of-the-last-century/ |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=The Observer}}</ref> Over the course of his career, he earned nine [[Big Ten Conference|Big Ten]] titles{{efn|name=c}}, eight [[NCAA Division I Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championships|NCAA titles]], and six [[USA Track & Field Championships|USA Track & Field titles]].<ref name=":12" /><ref name=":8" /> His international legacy was cemented at the [[1936 Summer Olympics|Olympics]], where he won gold in all four events he entered—each in [[Olympic record]] time–delivering a powerful rebuttal to [[Adolf Hitler]]'s [[ideology]] of [[Aryan race|Aryan]] supremacy and dealt a symbolic blow to the [[Nazi Germany]]'s [[Propaganda in Nazi Germany|racist propaganda]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Museum |first=Abraham Lincoln Presidential |title=Exposing the Hypocrisy of the 1936 Berlin Olympics |url=https://presidentlincoln.illinois.gov/education/educator-resources/teaching-guides/exposing-the-hypocrisy-of-the-1936-berlin-olympics/ |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=BBC World Service - Sportsworld - 10 seconds that defied Adolf Hitler |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/5gbnqrtPRqxzqxWJGxpPg6v/10-seconds-that-defied-adolf-hitler |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=BBC |language=en-GB}}</ref> Several of his world records endured for decades, including his long jump record, which lasted 25 years, and his 100-meter dash record, which stood for 20.<ref>{{Cite web |title=After 51 years, Owens' longevity record finally falls {{!}} NEWS {{!}} World Athletics |url=https://worldathletics.org/news/news/after-51-years-owens-longevity-record-finally |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250123093110/https://worldathletics.org/news/news/after-51-years-owens-longevity-record-finally |archive-date=2025-01-23 |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=worldathletics.org |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":17">{{Cite web |last=Shryack |first=Lincoln |date=February 18, 2016 |title=Jesse Owens And The 100m World Record Timeline |url=https://www.flotrack.org/articles/5049502-jesse-owens-and-the-100m-world-record-timeline |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241006041937/https://www.flotrack.org/articles/5049502-jesse-owens-and-the-100m-world-record-timeline |archive-date=October 6, 2024 |access-date=May 13, 2025 |website=FloTrack |language=en}}</ref> 

Following his athletic career, Owens experienced difficulties securing financial stability, a circumstance attributed in part to limited opportunities available to [[African American]] athletes during that period.<ref>{{Cite web |first=Ben | last=Morse | first2=Don | last2=Riddell |date=2024-07-04 |title=Jesse Owens' achievements at 1936 Olympics were 'thumb in the eye' to Adolf Hitler, says US athlete's grandson |url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/04/sport/jesse-owens-grandson-1936-olympics-berlin-spt-intl |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref> Although he was celebrated for his Olympic accomplishments, he was not invited to the [[White House]] or formally recognized by the [[Federal government of the United States|U.S. government]] at the time.<ref>{{Cite web |title=1936 Berlin Olympics :: Consider The Source Online |url=https://considerthesourceny.org/teaching-holocaust-and-genocide/holocaust-resources-time-period/indoctrination-and-discrimination/supplemental-readings/1936-olympics |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=considerthesourceny.org}}</ref> Later in life, his contributions to sport and society were acknowledged through various honors, including the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]] in [[List of Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients#Awarded by Gerald Ford|1976]] and the [[Congressional Gold Medal]] posthumously in [[List of Congressional Gold Medal recipients#Recipients of Congressional Gold Medals|1990]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-03-25 |title=Owens' Medal of Freedom auctioned for $128K |url=https://www.espn.com/olympics/trackandfield/story/_/id/22908298/jesse-owens-presidential-medal-freedom-sells-128617-auction |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=ESPN.com |language=en}}</ref>

<blockquote>
"Giants like Jesse Owens show us why politics will never defeat the Olympic spirit. His character, his achievements have continued to inspire Americans as they did the whole world in 1936."<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-01-22 |title=Decency, justice and the Michigan-OSU rivalry: The story of Jesse Owens and Gerald Ford |url=https://thelivingstonpost.com/decency-justice-and-the-michigan-osu-rivalry-the-story-of-jesse-owens-and-gerald-ford/ |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=thelivingpost.com |language=en}}</ref> — [[Gerald Ford]]
</blockquote>

Owens has been honored with schools, streets, and athletic facilities named after him—including [[Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium]]—and his life has inspired documentaries, books, and the biopic [[Race (2016 film)|''Race'']].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium {{!}} Columbus, OH 43210 |url=https://www.columbussports.org/listing/jesse-owens-memorial-stadium/426081/ |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=www.columbussports.org |language=en-us}}</ref><ref name=":13" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Race (2016) {{!}} Rotten Tomatoes |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/race_2016 |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=www.rottentomatoes.com |language=en}}</ref> Notably, the documentary ''[[Olympic Pride, American Prejudice]]'' also highlights his story as part of a broader examination of the 18 Black American athletes who competed in the 1936 Berlin Olympics.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Olympic Pride, American Prejudice movie review (2016) {{!}} Roger Ebert |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/olympic-pride-american-prejudice-2016 |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=www.rogerebert.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.pbs.org/show/olympic-pride-american-prejudice/ |title=Olympic Pride, American Prejudice |language=en |access-date=2025-05-13 |via=www.pbs.org}}</ref> He is also a member of several [[List of halls and walks of fame|halls of fame]], including the [[United States Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame|U.S. Olympic]] and [[National Track and Field Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jones |first=Maddie |date=2019-07-21 |title=Jesse Owens {{!}} U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame |url=https://usopm.org/jesse-owens/ |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=United States Olympic & Paralympic Museum |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-01-25 |title=Jesse Owens' four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games in Nazi Berlin mean more than perhaps any others in history. |url=https://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/a42654594/jesse-owen1/ |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=Runner's World |language=en-US}}</ref>

The [[dormitory]] that Owens occupied during the Berlin Olympics has been fully restored into a living museum, with pictures of his accomplishments at the games, and a letter (intercepted by the [[Gestapo]]) from a fan urging him not to shake hands with Hitler.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hitler%E2%80%99s_Olympic_Village_Faces_Conservation_Battle.theora.ogv|title=Hitler's Olympic Village Faces Conservation Battle [video] |work=Voice of America|date=August 26, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Henry |last=Ridgwell |date= August 23, 2012 |title=Hitler's Olympic Village Faces Conservation Battle |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/hitler-olympic-village-faces-conservation-battle/1494715.html |work=VOA News |publisher=Voice of America |access-date=April 14, 2023 |quote=A letter from a fan urges Owens to refuse to accept a medal from 'bloodstained hands'. He never saw it; it was intercepted by the Gestapo, the German secret police.}}</ref>

==Athletic achievements==
'''Sources''':<ref name=":15">{{Cite web |title=The Greatest Day – Page 6 |url=https://library.osu.edu/documents/university-archives/biographical_files/Owens_Jesse_3.pdf |access-date=May 11, 2025 |website=osu.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Dubelko |first=Jim |title=Jesse Owens - The Cleveland Years |url=https://clevelandhistorical.org/items/show/1003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250819042532/https://clevelandhistorical.org/items/show/1003 |archive-date=August 19, 2025 |access-date=May 11, 2025 |website=Cleveland Historical |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":20">{{Cite web |title=Timeline {{!}} Jesse Owens: A Lasting Legend |url=https://library.osu.edu/site/jesseowens/timeline/ |access-date=2025-05-11 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":14">{{Cite web |title=Looking Back At The OHSAA's Track & Field Championships |url=https://www.ohsaa.org/sports/history/tim-hudak-features/track |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250420151906/https://www.ohsaa.org/sports/history/tim-hudak-features/track |archive-date=April 20, 2025 |access-date=May 11, 2025 |website=www.ohsaa.org}}</ref><ref name=":12">{{Cite web |title=Jesse Owens |url=https://ohiostatebuckeyes.com/sports/2019/2/8/jesse-owens |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250718023849/https://ohiostatebuckeyes.com/sports/2019/2/8/jesse-owens |archive-date=July 18, 2025 |access-date=May 11, 2025 |website=Ohio State |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":8">{{Cite web |title=Ohio State – Championship History |url=https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sidearm.nextgen.sites/ohiostatebuckeyes.com/documents/2023/6/6/MTRKChampionshipHistory031417.pdf?timestamp=20230606071237 |access-date=May 11, 2025 |website=Ohio State Buckeyes}}</ref>

===Fairmount Junior High School===
Note:{{efn|He set [[Middle school|junior high school]] records in the [[100 metres]] in 10.6 seconds, the 75-yard dash in 7.4 seconds, the [[200 metres|220-yard dash]] in 21.4 seconds, the [[high jump]] at 6 feet flat, and the [[long jump]] with 22 feet 11¾ inches.}}

'''Annual [[Cleveland Athletic Club]] Indoor Meet at [[Public Auditorium|Cleveland Public Hall]]'''
* 3× [[High jump]] champion (1928–1930)
* 40-yard [[low hurdles]] champion (1929)
* [[40-yard dash]] champion (1929)

===East Technical High School===
Note:{{efn|In his [[Secondary school|high school]] career, Owens finished first in 75 of the 79 competitions he entered. He established a world record in the [[50 metres|50-yard dash]] and his 9.4 second [[100-yard dash]] equaled the world record and set a national high school record that stood until 1967. He also set national high school records in the [[200 metres|220-yard dash]] at 20.7 seconds, which lasted 25 years, and the [[long jump]] at 24 feet 11¼ inches, which stood for 16 years.<ref>{{Cite web |title=1963 High School Track and Field Annual |url=https://www.lynbrooksports.prepcaltrack.com/ATHLETICS/CTRN/HS-T+F-Annual_1963.pdf |access-date=2025-05-21 |website=PrepCalTrack.com}}</ref>}}

'''Mansfield Interscholastic Relays'''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mansfield Relays |url=https://michtrack.org/1966/4-16-1966%20Mansfield%20Relays%20Program.pdf |access-date=May 11, 2025 |website=Michtrack.org}}</ref>
* 2× [[Long jump]] champion (1932, 1933)
* [[100-yard dash]] champion (1933 tied [[Secondary school|H.S.]] record)
* [[200 metres|220-yard dash]] champion (1933)
* [[4 × 200 metres relay|4 × 220 yard relay]] champion (1933)
'''Intraschool Meet in Cleveland''' (June 3, 1933)<ref name=":15" />
* [[100 metres]] champion
* [[200 metres]] champion
* [[Long jump]] champion ([[Secondary school|H.S.]] record)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Indianapolis Recorder 10 June 1933 — Owens Breaks Own Prep Track Record |url=https://newspapers.library.in.gov/?a=d&d=INR19330610-01&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250402215521/https://newspapers.library.in.gov/?a=d&d=INR19330610-01&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-date=April 2, 2025 |access-date=May 20, 2025 |website=newspapers.library.in.gov}}</ref>
* [[4 × 200 metres relay|4 × 220 yard relay]] champion
'''OHSAA State Championships'''{{efn|Set state records in the [[long jump]] and [[4 × 200 metres relay|4 × 220-yard relays]] in 1932; In 1933, he set state records in all four events he competed in, the only athlete to ever set four state records in a single state track meet.}}<ref name=":14" />
* 2× State Champions – [[East Technical High School|East Technical HS]] (1932, 1933)
* 3× [[Long jump]] champion (1931–1933 [[Secondary school|H.S.]] record)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Indianapolis Recorder 27 May 1933 — Run LI'l Boy Run |url=https://newspapers.library.in.gov/cgi-bin/indiana?a=d&d=INR19330527-01.1.2&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251207231435/https://newspapers.library.in.gov/cgi-bin/indiana?a=d&d=INR19330527-01.1.2&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-date=December 7, 2025 |access-date=May 20, 2025 |website=newspapers.library.in.gov}}</ref>
* 2× [[100-yard dash]] champion (1932, 1933)
* 2× [[200 metres|220-yard dash]] champion (1932, 1933 [[Secondary school|H.S.]] record)<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Lantern 22 May 1933 — Jesse Owens Sets Records In Track Meet |url=https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19330522-01.1.3&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251207232423/https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19330522-01.1.3&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-date=December 7, 2025 |access-date=May 20, 2025 |website=osupublicationarchives.osu.edu}}</ref>
* 2× [[4 × 200 metres relay|4 × 220-yard relay]] champion (1932, 1933)
'''National High School Championships'''{{efn|Broke the national [[Secondary school|high school]] records in the [[100-yard dash]] and [[long jump]]; Set a meet record in the semi-final heat of the [[4 × 200 metres relay|4 × 220-yard relay]].}}(June 17, 1933)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jesse Owens ties World record in high school... - RareNewspapers.com |url=https://www.rarenewspapers.com/view/695984?list_url=%2Flist%3Fq%255Bdate_range_end%255D%3D2013-05-20%2525q%255Bdate_range_start%255D%3D1500-01-01%2525q%255Bquery%255D%3DJesse+Owens%2525q%255Bsearch_method%255D%3DExact+Phrase%2525q%255Btext%255D%3DJesse+Owens%2525srsltid%3DAfmBOoqkpAdW4XT35Y1_0z-TxHnNju_rtlAPjSQRiXJXXeO5QXn_O5ez |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251207232914/https://www.rarenewspapers.com/view/695984?list_url=%2Flist%3Fq%255Bdate_range_end%255D%3D2013-05-20%2525q%255Bdate_range_start%255D%3D1500-01-01%2525q%255Bquery%255D%3DJesse+Owens%2525q%255Bsearch_method%255D%3DExact+Phrase%2525q%255Btext%255D%3DJesse+Owens%2525srsltid%3DAfmBOoqkpAdW4XT35Y1_0z-TxHnNju_rtlAPjSQRiXJXXeO5QXn_O5ez%2A |archive-date=December 7, 2025 |access-date=May 17, 2025 |website=www.rarenewspapers.com |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Black Quotidian: June 22, 1933 |url=https://blackquotidian.supdigital.org/bq/june-22-1933 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250509160556/https://blackquotidian.supdigital.org/bq/june-22-1933 |archive-date=May 9, 2025 |access-date=May 19, 2025 |website=Black Quotidian: Everyday History in African-American Newspapers |language=en}}</ref>
* National Champions – [[East Technical High School|East Technical HS]]
* [[100-yard dash]] champion (tied {{AthAbbr|WR}})
* [[200 metres|220-yard dash]] champion ([[Secondary school|H.S.]] record)
* [[Long jump]] champion
'''Ohio State Fair''' (August 31, 1933)<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 3, 2024 |title=Remember When: High Schooler Jesse Owens Defeated a Big Ten Champion at the Ohio State Fair |url=https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-athletics/2024/08/148150/remember-when-high-schooler-jesse-owens-defeated-a-big-ten-champion-at-the-ohio-state-fair?amp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251207233115/https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-athletics/2024/08/148150/remember-when-high-schooler-jesse-owens-defeated-a-big-ten-champion-at-the-ohio-state-fair?amp |archive-date=December 7, 2025 |access-date=May 19, 2025 |website=Eleven Warriors |language=en}}</ref>
* [[100-yard dash]] champion

===College – Ohio State University===
Note:{{efn|Owens competed in and won all 42 events in 1936.}}

'''West Virginia Indoor Relays''' (February 10, 1934)<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Lantern 12 February 1934 — Ohio Runners Lose Opener To Hoosiers |url=https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19340212-01.1.3&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251207233301/https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19340212-01.1.3&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-date=December 7, 2025 |access-date=May 20, 2025 |website=osupublicationarchives.osu.edu}}</ref>
* [[60 metres]] champion (tied {{AthAbbr|WR}})
'''Freshman Dual Meet vs. Indiana''' (February 20, 1934)<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Lantern 21 February 1934 — Frosh Track Men Score Initial Win |url=https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19340221-01.1.3&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251207233421/https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19340221-01.1.3&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-date=December 7, 2025 |access-date=May 20, 2025 |website=osupublicationarchives.osu.edu}}</ref>
* [[60-yard dash]] champion
* [[Long jump]] champion
'''Freshman Dual Meet vs. Michigan''' (February 26, 1934)<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Lantern 27 February 1934 — Wolves Win Meet From Buck Frosh |url=https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19340227-01.1.3&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250522153720/https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19340227-01.1.3&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-date=May 22, 2025 |access-date=May 20, 2025 |website=osupublicationarchives.osu.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=February 27, 1934 (vol. 44, iss. 105) – Jesse Owens, Ohio Star, Equals World's Record In 60-Yard Dash |url=https://digital.bentley.umich.edu/midaily/mdp.39015071755958/71 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250810142722/https://digital.bentley.umich.edu/midaily/mdp.39015071755958/71 |archive-date=August 10, 2025 |access-date=May 21, 2025 |website=Michigan Daily Digital Archives |language=en}}</ref>
* [[60-yard dash]] champion (tied {{AthAbbr|WR}})
* [[Long jump]] champion
'''Freshman Dual Meet vs. Chicago''' (March 3, 1934)<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Lantern 6 March 1934 — Ohio Frosh Lose Meet To Chicago |url=https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19340306-01.1.3&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251207234223/https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19340306-01.1.3&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-date=December 7, 2025 |access-date=May 20, 2025 |website=osupublicationarchives.osu.edu}}</ref>
* [[60-yard dash]] champion
* [[Long jump]] champion
'''AAU Meet in Cleveland'''{{efn|Broke the [[Amateur Athletic Union|AAU]] record and equaled his own world record.}} (March 24, 1934)<ref name=":16">{{Cite web |title=The Lantern 27 March 1934 — Owens Shows Brilliantly in A.A.U. Meet |url=https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19340327-01.2.33&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251207234315/https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19340327-01.2.33&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-date=December 7, 2025 |access-date=May 12, 2025 |website=osupublicationarchives.osu.edu}}</ref>
* [[50 metres|50-yard dash]] champion (tied {{AthAbbr|WR}})
'''City of Cincinnati AAU Indoor Meet''' (March 31, 1934)<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Lantern 2 April 1934 — Bucks Obtain Top Honors In A.A.U. Races |url=https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19340402-01.1.3&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250521201129/https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19340402-01.1.3&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-date=May 21, 2025 |access-date=May 20, 2025 |website=osupublicationarchives.osu.edu}}</ref>
* [[50 metres|50-yard dash]] champion (tied {{AthAbbr|WR}})
* [[Long jump]] champion
'''Freshman Dual Meet vs. Purdue''' (May 4, 1934)<ref name=":11">{{Cite web |title=The Lantern 7 May 1934 — Jesse Owens Tops 2 World Records |url=https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19340507-01.2.44&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251207234522/https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19340507-01.2.44&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-date=December 7, 2025 |access-date=May 19, 2025 |website=osupublicationarchives.osu.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Lantern 8 May 1934 — Ohio State University Newspaper Archives |url=https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19340508-01.1.3&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251207234717/https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19340508-01.1.3&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-date=December 7, 2025 |access-date=May 19, 2025 |website=osupublicationarchives.osu.edu}}</ref>
* [[100-yard dash]] champion{{efn|Time was taken from his 120-yard dash; Set the world records at 90 yards and 120 yards.}}
* [[200 metres|220-yard dash]] champion
* [[Long jump]] champion
'''Freshman Dual Meet vs. Michigan'''{{efn|Equaled the freshman record in the [[100-yard dash]] and broke the freshman records in the [[200 metres|220-yard dash]] and [[long jump]].}} (May 11, 1934)<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Lantern 16 May 1934 — Owens Stars As Freshmen Beat Wolves |url=https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19340516-01.2.42&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251207234715/https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19340516-01.2.42&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-date=December 7, 2025 |access-date=May 12, 2025 |website=osupublicationarchives.osu.edu}}</ref>
* [[100-yard dash]] champion
* [[200 metres|220-yard dash]] champion
* [[Long jump]] champion
'''Annual Intramural Meet''' (May 22, 1934)<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Lantern 23 May 1934 — Owens Leads Alpha Phis To Track Crown |url=https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19340523-01.2.51&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251207234809/https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19340523-01.2.51&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-date=December 7, 2025 |access-date=May 19, 2025 |website=osupublicationarchives.osu.edu}}</ref>
* [[100-yard dash]] champion
* [[200 metres|220-yard dash]] champion
* [[Long jump]] champion
'''Big Ten Freshman Championships''' (May 26, 1934)<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Lantern 29 May 1934 — Freshmen Lead In Big Ten Meet |url=https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19340529-01.2.42&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251207234904/https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19340529-01.2.42&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-date=December 7, 2025 |access-date=May 19, 2025 |website=osupublicationarchives.osu.edu}}</ref>
* [[100-yard dash]] champion
* [[200 metres|220-yard dash]] champion
* [[Long jump]] champion
'''Millrose Games''' (February 2, 1935)<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Lantern 4 February 1935 — Owens Cops 60-Yard Dash in New York |url=https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19350204-01.1.3&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251207235007/https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19350204-01.1.3&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-date=December 7, 2025 |access-date=May 18, 2025 |website=osupublicationarchives.osu.edu}}</ref>
* [[60-yard dash]] champion
'''Dual Meet vs. Indiana''' (February 9, 1935)<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Lantern 11 February 1935 — Owens Leads Cinder Stars To Initial Win |url=https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19350211-01.1.3&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251207235110/https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19350211-01.1.3&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-date=December 7, 2025 |access-date=May 20, 2025 |website=osupublicationarchives.osu.edu}}</ref>
* [[60-yard dash]] champion
* [[Long jump]] champion
'''Dual Meet vs. Illinois''' (February 15, 1935)<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Lantern 18 February 1935 — Owens Sets Pace For Win Over Illinois |url=https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19350218-01.2.42&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251207235241/https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19350218-01.2.42&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-date=December 7, 2025 |access-date=May 20, 2025 |website=osupublicationarchives.osu.edu}}</ref>
* [[60-yard dash]] champion
* 70-yard [[hurdling|high hurdles]] champion
* 75-yard [[low hurdles]] champion
* [[Long jump]] champion
'''Dual Meet vs. Michigan''' (March 2, 1935)<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Lantern 4 March 1935 — Ward Bests Owens To Lead Michigan In Victory Over Bucks |url=https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19350304-01.2.31&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251207235230/https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19350304-01.2.31&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-date=December 7, 2025 |access-date=May 20, 2025 |website=osupublicationarchives.osu.edu}}</ref>
* 65-yard [[low hurdles]] champion
'''St. Louis Relays''' (April 5, 1935)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hawk Track Team Moves Across River, Page 6 |url=https://dailyiowan.lib.uiowa.edu/DI/1935/di1935-04-09.pdf |access-date=May 12, 2025 |website=Daily Iowan, uiowa.edu}}</ref>
* [[50 metres|50-yard dash]] champion (tied {{AthAbbr|WR}})<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Lantern 8 April 1935 — Jesse Equals World Mark For 50 Yards |url=https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19350408-01.2.45&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250523013510/https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19350408-01.2.45&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-date=May 23, 2025 |access-date=May 20, 2025 |website=osupublicationarchives.osu.edu}}</ref>
'''Drake Relays''' (April 26, 1935)<ref>{{Cite web |last=Miller |first=Justin |title=A brief history of the Drake Relays |url=https://timesdelphic.com/34406/news/34406/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250716090521/https://timesdelphic.com/34406/news/34406/ |archive-date=July 16, 2025 |access-date=May 20, 2025 |website=The Times-Delphic}}</ref><ref name=":7" />
* [[100-yard dash]] champion<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Lantern 29 April 1935 – Jesse Shatters American Jump Record, Equals Carnival Mark For 100-Yard Dash |url=https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19350429-01.2.49&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251207235517/https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19350429-01.2.49&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-date=December 7, 2025 |access-date=May 20, 2025 |website=osupublicationarchives.osu.edu}}</ref>
* [[Long jump]] champion ({{AthAbbr|NR}})<ref>{{Cite web |title=Indianapolis Times 27 April 1935 — Jesse Owens of Ohio State Cracks American Record in Broad Jump |url=https://newspapers.library.in.gov/?a=d&d=IPT19350427.1.11&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251207235610/https://newspapers.library.in.gov/?a=d&d=IPT19350427.1.11&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-date=December 7, 2025 |access-date=May 20, 2025 |website=newspapers.library.in.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Jesse Owens Breaks American Broad Jump Mark at Drake Relays |url=https://idnc.library.illinois.edu/?a=d&d=DIL19350427.1.6&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN---------- |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251207235701/https://idnc.library.illinois.edu/?a=d&d=DIL19350427.1.6&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN---------- |archive-date=December 7, 2025 |access-date=May 12, 2025 |website=Illinois.edu}}</ref>
'''Dual Meet vs. Notre Dame''' (May 4, 1935)<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Lantern 6 May 1935 – Bucks Score 71-60 Victory Over Irish In Night Contest |url=https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19350506-01.2.42&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251207235854/https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19350506-01.2.42&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-date=December 7, 2025 |access-date=May 20, 2025 |website=osupublicationarchives.osu.edu}}</ref>
* [[100-yard dash]] champion
* [[200 metres|220-yard dash]] champion
* [[Long jump]] champion
'''Dual Meet vs. Michigan''' (May 11, 1935)<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Lantern 13 May 1935 – Maize and Blue Capitalize on Second, Third Places; Owens Scores 4 Triumphs |url=https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19350513-01.2.45&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251207235833/https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19350513-01.2.45&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-date=December 7, 2025 |access-date=May 20, 2025 |website=osupublicationarchives.osu.edu}}</ref>
* [[100-yard dash]] champion
* [[200 metres|220-yard dash]] champion
* [[200 metres hurdles|220-yard low hurdles]] champion
* [[Long jump]] champion
'''Quad Meet vs. Wisconsin, Northwestern and Chicago''' (May 18, 1935)<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Lantern 20 May 1935 – New Record In Low Hurdles Features Performances; Bucks Lead With 69 Points |url=https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19350520-01.1.3&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251208000008/https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19350520-01.1.3&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-date=December 8, 2025 |access-date=May 20, 2025 |website=osupublicationarchives.osu.edu}}</ref>
* [[100-yard dash]] champion (tied {{AthAbbr|WR}})
* [[200 metres|220-yard dash]] champion
* [[200 metres hurdles|220-yard low hurdles]] champion ({{AthAbbr|WR}})<ref>{{Cite web |title=Indianapolis Recorder 25 May 1935 — Jesse Owens Breaks World Low Hurdle Record |url=https://newspapers.library.in.gov/?a=d&d=INR19350525-01&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250316102430/https://newspapers.library.in.gov/?a=d&d=INR19350525-01&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-date=March 16, 2025 |access-date=May 20, 2025 |website=newspapers.library.in.gov}}</ref>
* [[Long jump]] champion
'''Dual Meet vs. USC''' (June 15, 1935)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Indianapolis Recorder 22 June 1935 — Owens Takes Four Events on Coast |url=https://newspapers.library.in.gov/?a=d&d=INR19350622-01&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250403164124/https://newspapers.library.in.gov/?a=d&d=INR19350622-01&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-date=April 3, 2025 |access-date=May 20, 2025 |website=newspapers.library.in.gov}}</ref>
* [[100-yard dash]] champion
* [[200 metres|220-yard dash]] champion
* [[200 metres hurdles|220-yard low hurdles]] champion
* [[Long jump]] champion
'''Butler Indoor Relays'''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Indianapolis Recorder 30 March 1935 — Hoosier State Chronicles: Indiana's Digital Historic Newspaper Program |url=https://newspapers.library.in.gov/?a=d&d=INR19350330-01.1.7&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251208005430/https://newspapers.library.in.gov/?a=d&d=INR19350330-01.1.7&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-date=December 8, 2025 |access-date=May 12, 2025 |website=newspapers.library.in.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=1936-03-22 |title=OWENS SCORES THRICE IN THE BUTLER RELAYS; Ohio State Star Wins Hurdles, Dash and Broad Jump in Return to College Competition. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1936/03/22/archives/owens-scores-thrice-in-the-butler-relays-ohio-state-star-wins.html |access-date=2025-05-15 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Indianapolis Star Subscription Offers, Specials, and Discounts |url=https://subscribe.indystar.com/restricted?return=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indystar.com%2Fstory%2Fsports%2F2020%2F03%2F23%2Fus-sprinter-jesse-owens-once-tied-world-record-hinkle-fieldhouse%2F2900662001%2F&gps-source=CPROADBLOCKDH&itm_source=roadblock&itm_medium=onsite&itm_campaign=premiumroadblock&gca-cat=p |access-date=2025-05-11 |website=subscribe.indystar.com}}</ref>
* 2× [[60-yard dash]] champion (1935 {{AthAbbr|WR}}, 1936)
* 2× 60-yard [[low hurdles]] champion (1935, 1936)
* [[Long jump]] champion (1936)
'''Penn Relays''' (April 25, 1936)<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Lantern 27 April 1936 — Scarlet Give Snappy Showing to Win Two Relay Titles at Penn |url=https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19360427-01.1.3&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251208000935/https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19360427-01.1.3&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-date=December 8, 2025 |access-date=May 18, 2025 |website=osupublicationarchives.osu.edu}}</ref>
* [[100 metres]] champion
* [[Long jump]] champion
* [[Sprint medley relay]] champion
'''Dual Meet vs. Michigan''' (May 2, 1936)<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Lantern 4 May 1936 — Owens Ties World Mark in Century Winning Four Firsts |url=https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19360504-01.1.3&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251208005636/https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19360504-01.1.3&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-date=December 8, 2025 |access-date=May 18, 2025 |website=osupublicationarchives.osu.edu}}</ref>
* [[100-yard dash]] champion (tied {{AthAbbr|#}}{{AthAbbr|WR}})
* [[200 metres|220-yard dash]] champion
* [[200 metres hurdles|220-yard low hurdles]] champion
* [[Long jump]] champion
'''Tri-Meet vs. Notre Dame and Michigan State''' (May 9, 1936)<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Lantern 11 May 1936 — Bucks Lose Hairline Verdict To Balanced Irish Cinder Outfit |url=https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19360511-01.1.3&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251208001218/https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19360511-01.1.3&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-date=December 8, 2025 |access-date=May 18, 2025 |website=osupublicationarchives.osu.edu}}</ref>
* [[100-yard dash]] champion
* [[200 metres|220-yard dash]] champion
* [[200 metres hurdles|220-yard low hurdles]] champion
* [[Long jump]] champion
'''Dual Meet vs. Wisconsin''' (May 16, 1936)<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Lantern 18 May 1936 — Owens Shows Form as Badgers Defeat Bucks at Wisconsin |url=https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19360518-01.1.3&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251208001406/https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19360518-01.1.3&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-date=December 8, 2025 |access-date=May 18, 2025 |website=osupublicationarchives.osu.edu}}</ref>
* [[100-yard dash]] champion ({{AthAbbr|#}}{{AthAbbr|WR}})
* [[200 metres|220-yard dash]] champion
* [[200 metres hurdles|220-yard low hurdles]] champion
* [[Long jump]] champion
'''Dual Meet vs. USC''' (June 13, 1936)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Track —— 1936, Page 45 (67) |url=https://library.osu.edu/documents/university-archives/biographical_files/Owens_Jesse.pdf |access-date=May 18, 2025 |website=osu.edu}}</ref>
* [[100-yard dash]] champion (tied {{AthAbbr|WR}})
* [[200 metres|220-yard dash]] champion
* [[200 metres hurdles|220-yard low hurdles]] champion
* [[Long jump]] champion
'''Central Intercollegiate Conference Championships''' (1935, 1936)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Indianapolis Recorder 15 June 1935 — Owens Three Victories Help Ohio State Cop C.I.C. Track Supremacy at Marquette U. |url=https://newspapers.library.in.gov/?a=d&d=INR19350615-01.1.12&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251208001427/https://newspapers.library.in.gov/?a=d&d=INR19350615-01.1.12&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-date=December 8, 2025 |access-date=May 17, 2025 |website=newspapers.library.in.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Lantern 8 June 1936 — Bucks Take Third in Central Meet |url=https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19360608-01.1.3&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251208001525/https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19360608-01.1.3&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-date=December 8, 2025 |access-date=May 18, 2025 |website=osupublicationarchives.osu.edu}}</ref>
* [[Central Intercollegiate Conference]] Champions – [[Ohio State University]] (1935)
* 2× [[100-yard dash]] champion (1935, 1936)
* 2× [[200 metres|220-yard dash]] champion (1935, 1936)
* 2× [[Long jump]] champion (1935, 1936)
'''Big Ten Indoor Championships''' (March 9, 1935)<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Lantern 11 March 1935 — Owens Cracks World Mark in 60-Yard Dash As Wolves Set New High-Point Record |url=https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19350311-01.2.32&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251208001642/https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19350311-01.2.32&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-date=December 8, 2025 |access-date=May 20, 2025 |website=osupublicationarchives.osu.edu}}</ref>
* [[60-yard dash]] champion (1935 {{AthAbbr|WR}})<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jesse Owens Breaks World 60-Yard Mark |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=SDI19350310.1.10&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN-------- |access-date=May 12, 2025 |website=California Digital Newspaper Collection}}</ref>
'''Big Ten Outdoor Championships'''{{efn|Broke five world records and tied another at the 1935 Championships ([[Long jump]], [[100-yard dash]], [[200 metres]], [[200 metres|220-yard dash]], [[200 metres hurdles|200m low hurdles]], and [[200 metres hurdles|220 yard low hurdles]]).}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Indianapolis Recorder 1 June 1935 — Jesse Owens Startles World With Sensational Versatility |url=https://newspapers.library.in.gov/?a=d&d=INR19350601-01&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250402193749/https://newspapers.library.in.gov/?a=d&d=INR19350601-01&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-date=April 2, 2025 |access-date=May 20, 2025 |website=newspapers.library.in.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Lantern 25 May 1936 — Owens Keeps 4 Titles |url=https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19360525-01.1.3&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251208002005/https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19360525-01.1.3&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-date=December 8, 2025 |access-date=May 18, 2025 |website=osupublicationarchives.osu.edu}}</ref>
* 2× [[Long jump]] champion (1935 {{AthAbbr|WR}}, 1936)
* 2× [[100-yard dash]] champion (1935 tied {{AthAbbr|WR}}, 1936)
* 2× [[200 metres|220-yard dash]] champion (1935 {{AthAbbr|WR}}, 1936)
* 2× [[200 metres hurdles|220-yard low hurdles]] champion (1935 {{AthAbbr|WR}}, 1936)
'''NCAA Championships'''<ref>{{Cite web |title=NCAA Outdoor Track and Field |url=http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/track_outdoor_champs_records/2015/DIMChamps.pdf |access-date=May 12, 2025 |website=NCAA.org}}</ref>
* 2× [[Long jump]] champion ([[1935 NCAA Track and Field Championships#Field events|1935]], [[1936 NCAA Track and Field Championships#Field events|1936]])
* [[100-yard dash]] champion ([[1935 NCAA Track and Field Championships#Track events|1935]])
* [[100 metres]] champion ([[1936 NCAA Track and Field Championships#Track events|1936]] {{AthAbbr|WR}})
* 2× [[200 metres hurdles|220-yard low hurdles]] champion ([[1935 NCAA Track and Field Championships#Track events|1935]], [[1936 NCAA Track and Field Championships#Track events|1936]])
* [[200 metres|220-yard dash]] champion ([[1935 NCAA Track and Field Championships#Track events|1935]])
* [[200 metres]] champion ([[1936 NCAA Track and Field Championships#Track events|1936]])

===USA Track and Field Championships===
'''USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships'''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Track and Field Statistics |url=http://trackfield.brinkster.net/USATournaments.asp?TourCode=N&Year=1936&Gender=m&TF=T&P=F&By=Y&Count= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250423020555/http://trackfield.brinkster.net/USATournaments.asp?TourCode=N&Year=1936&Gender=m&TF=T&P=F&By=Y&Count= |archive-date=April 23, 2025 |access-date=May 17, 2025 |website=trackfield.brinkster.net}}</ref>
* [[100 metres]] silver medalist ([[1934 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships|1934]])
* 2× [[100 metres]] bronze medalist ([[1933 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships|1933]], [[1935 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships|1935]])<ref name=":19">{{Cite web |title=Indianapolis Recorder 13 July 1935 — Peacock Steals 100 Meter Dash Show From Owens And Metcalfe In National A.A.U. Carnival |url=https://newspapers.library.in.gov/?a=d&d=INR19350713-01&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250403084909/https://newspapers.library.in.gov/?a=d&d=INR19350713-01&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-date=April 3, 2025 |access-date=May 20, 2025 |website=newspapers.library.in.gov}}</ref>
* [[Long jump]] silver medalist ([[1935 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships|1935]])<ref name=":19" />
* [[100 metres]] gold medalist ([[1936 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships|1936]])
* 3× [[Long jump]] gold medalist ([[1933 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships|1933]], [[1934 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships|1934]], [[1936 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships|1936]])
'''USA Indoor Track and Field Championships'''
* [[60 metres]] silver medalist ([[1935 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships|1935]] {{AthAbbr|WR}}, semi-final heat)<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 25, 1935 |title=Former Plymouth Boy Ties World's Record |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/wilkes-barre-times-leader/172595244/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250522164520/https://www.newspapers.com/article/wilkes-barre-times-leader/172595244/ |archive-date=May 22, 2025 |access-date=May 18, 2025 |work=Wilkes-Barre Times Leader |pages=15}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Lantern 25 February 1935 — Owens Shatters 2 World Records In National Meet |url=https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19350225-01.2.36&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241127051853/https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19350225-01.2.36&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-date=November 27, 2024 |access-date=May 20, 2025 |website=osupublicationarchives.osu.edu}}</ref>
* 2× [[Long jump]] gold medalist ([[1934 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships|1934]] {{AthAbbr|WR}}, [[1935 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships|1935]] {{AthAbbr|WR}})<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Lantern 26 February 1934 — Owens Sets World Broad Jump Record |url=https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19340226-01.1.3&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251208002251/https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19340226-01.1.3&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-date=December 8, 2025 |access-date=May 18, 2025 |website=osupublicationarchives.osu.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Lantern 25 February 1935 — Owens Shatters 2 World Records in National Meet |url=https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19350225-01.1.3&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251208002550/https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19350225-01.1.3&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-date=December 8, 2025 |access-date=May 18, 2025 |website=osupublicationarchives.osu.edu}}</ref>

===1936 Olympics===
'''Olympic Trials'''<ref name=":10">{{Cite web |title=Towns Wears Old Trunks, Safety Pins Held Need |url=https://www.virginiachronicle.com/?a=d&d=RNL19360713.1.18&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-------- |access-date=May 12, 2025 |website=Virginia Chronicle }}{{Dead link|date=May 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref>
* [[1936 United States Olympic trials (track and field)#Track|100 metres champion]]
* [[1936 United States Olympic trials (track and field)#Track|200 metres champion]] ({{AthAbbr|WR}})
* [[1936 United States Olympic trials (track and field)#Field|Long jump champion]]
'''Olympics'''
* [[Athletics at the 1936 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metres|100 metres gold medalist]] ({{AthAbbr|OR}})
* [[Athletics at the 1936 Summer Olympics – Men's 200 metres|200 metres gold medalist]] ({{AthAbbr|WR}})
* [[Athletics at the 1936 Summer Olympics – Men's long jump|Long jump gold medalist]] ({{AthAbbr|OR}})
* [[Athletics at the 1936 Summer Olympics – Men's 4 × 100 metres relay|4 × 100 metres relay gold medalist]] ({{AthAbbr|WR}})

===World records===
'''Sources''':<ref>{{Cite web |title=Progression of IAAF World Records |url=https://iaaf-ebooks.s3.amazonaws.com/2015/Progression-of-IAAF-World-Records-2015/projet/IAAF-WRPB-2015.pdf |access-date=May 17, 2025 |website=IAAF Athletics}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=World Athletics – 2012 Statistics Book |url=https://worldathletics.org/download/downloadresultinfo?filename=5a76921e-2034-4f2d-96a6-ec6c9ad792f2.pdf&urlSlug=istanbul-2012-statistics-book-part-5-of-5 |access-date=May 17, 2025 |website=World Athletics}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Track Newsletter |url=https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/eTN1961_vol07_11.pdf |access-date=May 17, 2025 |website=Trackandfieldnews.com}}</ref>

'''50-yard dash'''
* 1933: 5.2 seconds{{efn|Subsequently tied his own world record on two separate occasions on March 24 and 31, 1934.}}<ref name=":16" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Georgia |first=Digital Library of |title=Atlanta daily world. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1932-current, April 21, 1940, City Edition, Image 8 |url=https://gahistoricnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu/lccn/sn82015425/1940-04-21/ed-1/seq-8/ |journal=Atlanta Daily World |issn=1528-6142 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251208002737/https://gahistoricnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu/lccn/sn82015425/1940-04-21/ed-1/seq-8/ |archive-date=December 8, 2025}}</ref>
** February 19, 1939: Broken by [[Barney Ewell|Henry Norwood Ewell]] in 5.1 seconds
'''60-yard dash''' (indoor)
* March 23, 1935: 6.09 seconds{{efn|name=a}}{{efn|Previously tied the world record on February 26, 1934 in 6.2 seconds and broke the world record on March 9, 1935 in 6.1 seconds.<ref>{{cite web |title=March 9 - Year in Sports |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/packages/html/sports/year_in_sports/03.09.html?scp=4&sq=eddie%20taylor&st=cse |access-date=2025-05-17 |website=The New York Times}}</ref>}}
** February 28, 1959: Broken by [https://www.bcshof.org/halloffamers/carper1978.htm Herb Carper] in 6 seconds flat<ref>{{Cite web |last=Allmann |first=Bill |title=No. 36: Herb Carper missed out on the Olympics but was once the fastest in the world |url=https://www.timesonline.com/story/sports/2016/04/15/no-36-herb-carper-missed/18543319007/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251208002816/https://www.timesonline.com/story/sports/2016/04/15/no-36-herb-carper-missed/18543319007/ |archive-date=December 8, 2025 |access-date=May 17, 2025 |website=Beaver County Times |language=en-US}}</ref>
'''60 metres dash''' (indoor)
* February 23, 1935: 6.6 seconds{{efn|Previously tied the world record on February 10, 1934 in 6.8 seconds.}}
** March 12, 1955: Broken by [[Heinz Fütterer]] in 6.5 seconds
'''100-yard dash'''
* June 17, 1933: Tied {{AthAbbr|WR}} in 9.4 seconds{{efn|Tied the world record a total of seven times throughout his career. [[Chicago]] June 17, 1933; [[Columbus, Ohio|Columbus]] May 19, 1934;<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Lantern 21 May 1934 — Owens Steps 100 In 9.4 |url=https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19340521-01.2.43&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |access-date=2025-05-20 |website=osupublicationarchives.osu.edu}}</ref> [[Evanston, Illinois|Evanston]] May 18, 1935; [[Ann Arbor, Michigan|Ann Arbor]] May 25, 1935; Columbus May 2, 1936; Columbus June 13, 1936; Chicago June 20, 1936 (official time taken during 100m race); Unofficially broke the world record at [[Wisconsin]] May 16, 1936 with a wind assisted time of 9.3 seconds.}}{{efn|At the 1935 [[Big Ten Conference|Big Ten]] Championships on May 25, 1935, more than half the official timers actually clocked Owens at 9.3 seconds, making his actual time approximately 9.35 seconds, but the rules of the day stipulated that each runner got attributed the slowest time recorded.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Lantern 27 May 1935 — World Marks Topple Before Blazing Onslaught Of Buck Sprint And Jump Sensation |url=https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19350527-01.2.43&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |access-date=2025-05-20 |website=osupublicationarchives.osu.edu}}</ref> The timers also may have heeded the head official's admonition to "watch for the back foot. See it cross the finish line, and then press the old forefinger."}}
** May 15, 1948: Broken by [[Mel Patton|Melvin E. Patton]] in 9.3 seconds
'''100 metres dash'''
* June 20, 1936: 10.2 seconds<ref name=":17" />
** August 3, 1956: Broken by [[Willie Williams (sprinter)|Willie Williams]] in 10.1 seconds<ref name=":17" />
'''220-yard dash'''
* May 25, 1935: 20.3 seconds{{efn|Also broke the world record for the [[200 metres]] (straight).}}
** May 7, 1949: Broken by [[Mel Patton|Melvin E. Patton]] in 20.2 seconds
'''200 metres dash''' (curve)
* August 5, 1936: 20.7 seconds{{efn|Previously broke the world record on July 12, 1936 with a time of 21 seconds flat.}}
** May 26, 1951: Broken by [[Andy Stanfield]] in 20.6 seconds
'''220-yard low hurdles'''
* May 25, 1935: 22.6 seconds{{efn|Also broke the world record for the [[200 metres hurdles]]; Chief timer Phil Diamond was distracted just as the gun fired and notified the number 4 timer that he was one of the 3 official timers. The number 4 timer got 22.6 seconds, but the originally selected two timers timed Owens in 22.4 seconds. The time should have been 22.4, but Diamond refused to certify anything faster than a 22.6 "because it was a world-record application blank".}}{{efn|Previously broke the world record on May 18, 1935 with a time of 22.9 seconds.}}
** June 8, 1940: Broken by [[Fred Wolcott]] in 22.5 seconds
'''Long jump'''
* May 25, 1935: 26 feet 8¼ inches or 8.13 metres
** August 12, 1960: Broken by [[Ralph Boston]] with a leap of 26 feet 11¼ inches or 8.21 metres
'''Long jump''' (indoor)
* February 23, 1935: 25 feet 9 inches or 7.85 metres{{efn|Also broke the world record at the same event with a leap of {{cvt|25|ft|7+7/8|in}}; Previously broke the world record on February 24, 1934 with a leap of {{cvt|25|ft|3+1/4|in}}.}}
** February 20, 1960: Broken by [[Bo Roberson|Irvin Roberson]] with a leap of 25 feet 9.5 inches or 7.86 metres
'''4 × 100 metres relay'''
* August 9, 1936: 39.8 seconds along with [[Ralph Metcalfe]], [[Foy Draper]], and [[Frank Wykoff]]{{efn|Also broke the world record the day before on August 8 with a relay time of 40 seconds flat.}}
** December 1, 1956: Broken by [[Ira Murchison]], [[Leamon King]], [[Thane Baker]], and [[Bobby Morrow]] in 39.5 seconds

===Non-standard world records===
'''Source''':<ref name=":11" />

'''90-yard dash'''
* Set by [[Charley Paddock|Charles Paddock]] in 1921 with a time of 8.8 seconds
* Broken by Jesse Owens on May 4, 1934 with a time of 8.6 seconds
'''100-yard dash''' (15-yard head start)
* Set by [[Frank Wykoff]] in 1930 with a time of 8.7 seconds<ref name=":18">{{Cite web |title=The Lantern 24 April 1935 — Owens Shatters Wykoff's Record For Flying Start |url=https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19350424-01.2.40&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250522190739/https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19350424-01.2.40&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-date=May 22, 2025 |access-date=May 20, 2025 |website=osupublicationarchives.osu.edu}}</ref>
* Broken by Jesse Owens on April 23, 1935 in 8.6 seconds{{efn|One of the 3 official timers clocked him in 8.4 seconds.}}<ref name=":18" />
'''120-yard dash'''
* Set by [[Howard Drew]] in 1914 with a time of 11.6 seconds
* Broken by Jesse Owens on May 4, 1934 with a time of 11.5 seconds

==Awards and honors==
===Halls of Fame===
*[[Helms Athletic Foundation]] Hall of Fame – Inaugural Class of 1949<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Lantern 10 May 1949 — Ohio State University Newspaper Archives |url=https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19490510-01.2.66&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=osupublicationarchives.osu.edu}}</ref>
*[[Drake Relays]] Hall of Fame – Inaugural Class of 1959<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-04-25 |title=Drake Relays Athletes and Coaches Hall of Fame Induction Coming Up on April 28 |url=https://godrakebulldogs.com/news/2022/4/25/drake-relays-athletes-and-coaches-hall-of-fame-induction-on-thursday-april-28.aspx |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=Drake University Athletics |language=en}}</ref>
*[[Alabama Sports Hall of Fame]] – Class of 1970<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://ashof.org/inductees/james-cleveland-jesse-owens|title=James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens|website=Alabama Sports Hall of Fame|access-date=June 14, 2018|archive-date=June 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614050024/http://ashof.org/inductees/james-cleveland-jesse-owens|url-status=dead}}</ref>
*[https://www.oatccc.com/HOF/ OATCCC Hall of Fame] – Class of 1970<ref>{{Cite web |last=Diamond |first=Brian |title=Ohio Association of Track and Cross Country Coaches Hall Of Fame Recipient Jesse Owens 1970 |url=https://www.oatccc.com/HOF/View-Bio/Jesse-Owens-1970/ |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=www.oatccc.com |language=en}}</ref>
*[[National Track and Field Hall of Fame]] – Inaugural Class of 1974<ref name=":9">{{Cite web |title=USA Track & Field {{!}} Jesse Owens |url=https://www.usatf.org/athlete-bios/jesse-owens |access-date=2025-05-10 |website=usatf.org}}</ref>
*[[Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame]] – Inaugural Class of 1976<ref>{{Cite web |last=admin |date=2009-11-20 |title=Owens, Jesse |url=https://www.clevelandsportshall.com/owens-jesse/ |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame |language=en-US}}</ref>
*[[Ohio State Varsity O Hall of Fame|Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame]] – Inaugural Class of 1977<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jesse Owens (1977) {{!}} Hall of Fame Inductees |url=https://ohiostatebuckeyes.com/honors/hall-of-fame-inductees/jesse-owens/322 |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=Ohio State |language=en}}</ref>
*[[National Sports Media Association#Hall of Fame|NSMA Hall of Fame]] – Class of 1978<ref>{{Cite web |title=1978 – Jesse Owens |url=https://nationalsportsmedia.org/awards/hall-of-fame/1978-jesse-owens |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=National Sports Media Association |language=en}}</ref>
*[[U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame]] – Inaugural Class of 1983<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcsports.com/notable-us-olympic-hall-fame-inductees#slide-99|title=Notable US Olympic Hall of Fame inductees|website=NBC Sports|date=April 20, 2009|access-date=June 14, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.teamusa.org/About-the-USOC/Inside-the-USOC/Awards/Hall-of-Fame|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131022120900/http://www.teamusa.org/About-the-USOC/Inside-the-USOC/Awards/Hall-of-Fame|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 22, 2013|title=Hall of Fame|website=Team USA|access-date=June 14, 2018}}</ref>
*[[National High School Hall of Fame]] – Class of 1983<ref>{{Cite web |title=NFHS Hall of Fame |url=https://www.ohsaa.org/AboutOHSAA/NFHSHallofFame |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=www.ohsaa.org}}</ref>
*[https://phoenix10k.com/hall-of-fame/ Arizona Runner's Hall of Fame] – Class of 2012<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2012-10-31 |title=Runner's Hall of Fame adds 4 |url=https://www.ahwatukee.com/sports/sports_briefs/runner-s-hall-of-fame-adds-4/article_4d2b5098-22de-11e2-8e49-001a4bcf887a.html |access-date=2025-05-12 |website=Ahwatukee Foothills News |language=en}}</ref>
*[https://nationalhighschooltrackandfieldhof.org/ National High School Track and Field Hall of Fame] – Inaugural Class of 2018<ref>{{Cite web |title=National High School Track & Field Hall of Fame Ceremony - News - Inaugural Inductees Announced for National High School Track and Field Hall of Fame |url=https://www.runnerspace.com/eprofile.php?event_id=13078&do=news&news_id=509297 |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=www.runnerspace.com}}</ref>
*[https://cahof.ustfccca.org/ Collegiate Athlete Hall of Fame] – Inaugural Class of 2022<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jesse Owens Inducted into Collegiate Athlete Hall of Fame |url=https://ohiostatebuckeyes.com/news/2022/6/7/jesse-owens-inducted-into-collegiate-athlete-hall-of-fame |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=Ohio State |language=en}}</ref>
*[https://ohshof.com/ Ohio Sports Hall of Fame] – Inaugural Class of 2024<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fame |first=Ohio Sports Hall of |title=Ohio Sports Hall of Fame |url=https://ohshof.com/class-of-2024 |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=Ohio Sports Hall of Fame |language=en-US}}</ref>
*[[East Technical High School]] Hall of Fame – Honorary Inductee<ref>{{Cite web |title=ETAA Scarab Hall of Fame |url=https://easttech-alumni.org/etaa-scarab-hall-of-fame.html |access-date=2025-05-14 |website=The East Technical High School Alumni Association |language=en}}</ref>

===Awards and tributes===
*1930: The city's athletic council voted him the most outstanding [[Middle school|junior high]] athlete.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |title=Jesse Owens to Talk Here |url=https://www.nyshistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=paa19510426-01.1.22&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN---------- |access-date=May 11, 2025 |website=NYS Historic Newspapers |archive-date=February 24, 2026 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260224204109/https://www.nyshistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=paa19510426-01.1.22&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN---------- |url-status=dead }}</ref>
*1936: The [[Associated Press]] named Owens the most outstanding athlete of the [[1936 United States Olympic trials (track and field)|Olympic Trials]].<ref name=":10" />
*1936: [[AP Athlete of the Year]] (Male)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jesse Owens Voted Year's Outstanding Performer in Sports by Associated Press |url=https://www.virginiachronicle.com/?a=d&d=CTV19361214.1.2&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-------- |access-date=May 11, 2025 |website=Virginia Chronicle }}{{Dead link|date=May 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ngxJ7XqMqTEC&pg=PR19|title=Jesse Owens: A Biography|last=Edmondson|first=Jacqueline|publisher=Greenwood Press|year=2007|isbn=978-0-313-33988-2|location=Westport, CT|page=xix}}</ref>
*1936: Four [[Quercus robur|English oak]] saplings, one for each Olympic gold medal, from the [[German Olympic Sports Confederation|German Olympic Committee]], planted. One of the trees was planted at the [[University of Southern California]], one at Rhodes High School in Cleveland, where he trained, and one is rumored to be on the [[Ohio State University]] campus but has yet to be identified. The fourth tree was at the home of Jesse Owens's mother but was removed when the house was demolished.<ref>{{cite web |last=Deitch |first=Linda |url=http://www.dispatch.com/content/blogs/a-look-back/2011/10/did-jesse-owens-plant-a-tree-at-osu.html |title=Did Jesse Owens plant a tree at OSU? |work=The Columbus Dispatch |date=October 7, 2011 |access-date=August 5, 2013 |archive-date=November 30, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121130082333/http://www.dispatch.com/content/blogs/a-look-back/2011/10/did-jesse-owens-plant-a-tree-at-osu.html }}</ref>
*1950: Voted the greatest black athlete of all time and the greatest track and field athlete for the first half of the century in a poll conducted by the [[Associated Press]].<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":6" />
*1950: At the 50th anniversary of the [[Big Ten Conference|Big Ten]] Championships, Owens was unanimously named the top track athlete of the half-century and the only athlete selected for the all-star team in more than one individual event—earning spots in the [[100-yard dash]], [[200 metres|220-yard dash]], [[200 metres hurdles|220-yard low hurdles]], and [[long jump]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=All Big Ten Track Squad Selected – Team Marks 50 Years Of Outdoor Track |url=https://idnc.library.illinois.edu/?a=d&d=DIL19500523.1.5&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN---------- |access-date=May 16, 2025 |website=Illinois.edu}}</ref>
*1955: President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] honored Owens by naming him an "Ambassador of Sports".<ref>{{Cite web |date=2008-02-14 |title=A True American Hero - Jesse Owens |url=https://www.blackhistorymonth.org.uk/article/section/sporting-heroes/jesse-owens/ |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=Black History Month 2025 |language=en}}</ref>
*October 18, 1955: ''Track and Field'' magazine names Owens all-time Track and Field athlete.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Miller |first=Dylan |date=October 18, 2024 |title=October 18th, 1955-Jesse Owens named all-time Track and Field athlete |url=https://thedeclarationatcoloniahigh.com/68435/today-in-sports/october-18th-1955-jesse-owens-named-all-time-track-and-field-athlete/ |access-date=September 4, 2025 |website=The Declaration}}</ref>
*1956: Owens was elected an honorary member of [[Ohio State University|OSU]]'s chapter of the Senior honor society Sphinx.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ohio State University Monthly March 1956 — Ohio State University Newspaper Archives |url=https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=OSUM195603-01.1.24&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=osupublicationarchives.osu.edu}}</ref>
*1959: Owens returned to [[Des Moines, Iowa|Des Moines]] and was celebrated at the [[Drake Relays]] as the most outstanding athlete to compete in the first 50 years of the competition.<ref name=":7">{{Cite web |last=Sievers |first=Jeremy |date=April 16, 2013 |title=Old School Photo: Drake Relays 1935 |url=https://news.drake.edu/2013/04/16/old-school-photo-drake-relays-1935/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240729122330/https://news.drake.edu/2013/04/16/old-school-photo-drake-relays-1935/ |archive-date=July 29, 2024 |access-date=May 11, 2025 |website=Drake University Newsroom |language=en-US}}</ref>
*October 1963: [[Track & Field News]] named Owens the athlete of the decade from 1931–1940.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-05-21 |title=Athletes of the Century |url=https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/UeIAAOSw-F9mjuP5/s-l1600.webp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250521041408/https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/UeIAAOSw-F9mjuP5/s-l400.webp |url-status=live |archive-date=2025-05-21 |access-date=2025-06-10 }}</ref>
*1965: The [[Ohio State University|Ohio State]] Alumni Association presented Owens with the Alumni Citizenship Award.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Past honorees {{!}} Alumni Association |url=https://www.osu.edu/alumni/about/ohio-state-alumni-awards/past-honorees |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=www.osu.edu |language=en}}</ref>
*1970: Receives [[Ohio State University|OSU]] Centennial Award.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tribute to Jesse Owens' Accomplishments, Page 13 |url=https://library.osu.edu/documents/university-archives/biographical_files/Owens_Jesse_3.pdf |access-date=May 11, 2025 |website=osu.edu}}</ref>
*1971: The [[Ivory Coast]] named the street on which the [[List of diplomatic missions of the United States#Africa|U.S. embassy]] is located "Rue Jesse Owens".<ref>{{Cite web |title=IVORY COAST: JESSE OWENS AND US AMBASSADOR ATTEND OPENING OF NEW US EMBASSY |url=https://www.britishpathe.com/asset/108084/ |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=British Pathé |language=en-GB}}</ref>
*1972: [[Ohio State University|The Ohio State University]] awarded Owens an honorary doctorate of athletic arts.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-03-26 |title=OWENS, JESSE {{!}} Encyclopedia of Cleveland History {{!}} Case Western Reserve University |url=https://case.edu/ech/articles/o/owens-jesse |access-date=2025-05-11 |website=case.edu |language=en}}</ref>
*1974: The [[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]] presented Owens with the [[Theodore Roosevelt Award]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wiggins |first=David K. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aYKsBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA272 |title=African Americans in Sports |date=2015-03-26 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-47744-0 |language=en}}</ref>
*1976: Awarded [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]] by President [[Gerald Ford]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/race/jesse-owens-timeline/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/race/jesse-owens-timeline/ |archive-date=January 11, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Jesse Owens: the life and times of a 20th century icon|date=May 18, 2016|website=The Telegraph|access-date=June 14, 2018}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
*1976: Recipient of the Silver [[Olympic Order]] for his quadruple victory in the 1936 games and his defense of sport and the ethics of sport.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://library.la84.org/OlympicInformationCenter/OlympicReview/1976/ore107/ore107r.pdf|title=Olympic Awards|date=July 12, 1976|website=LA84 Foundation|access-date=June 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160912060855/http://library.la84.org/OlympicInformationCenter/OlympicReview/1976/ore107/ore107r.pdf|archive-date=September 12, 2016}}</ref>
*1978: Receives the [[Roy Wilkins]] Award from the [[NAACP]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=ESPN.com: An American hero |url=https://www.espn.com/sportscentury/features/00194717.html |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=www.espn.com}}</ref>
*1979: Awarded [[Library of Congress Living Legend|Living Legend Award]] by President [[Jimmy Carter]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://jesseowensmemorialpark.com/wordpress1/life-after-berlin|title=Life After Berlin|website=Jesse Owens Memorial Park|date=December 15, 2012 |access-date=March 14, 2018}}</ref>
*1979: The [[Spirit of America Festival]] honored Owens with the Audie Murphy Patriotism Award.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Thomas |first=Ronnie |date=2013-07-02 |title=Decorated vet bestowed Audie Murphy award |url=https://www.decaturdaily.com/news/local/decorated-vet-bestowed-audie-murphy-award/article_73bf17c9-a078-528c-ad65-8680b14f3af2.html |access-date=2025-05-12 |website=Decatur Daily |language=en}}</ref>
*1980: Asteroid newly discovered by [[Antonín Mrkos]] at the [[Kleť Observatory]] named [[6758 Jesseowens]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=6758|title=(6758) Jesseowens|website=International Astronomical Union|access-date=June 14, 2018}}</ref>
*1980: Jesse Owens Academy in [[Chicago]] was named in his honor, but it closed in 2013 and merged with Gompers Elementary. Following public outcry, the merged school was once again named after him.<ref>{{Cite web |last=rtmdjackson |date=2013-10-03 |title=The name Jesse Owens may grace Chicago school |url=https://chicagodefender.com/the-name-jesse-owens-may-grace-chicago-school/?amp=1 |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=Chicago Defender |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-10-23 |title=Olympic hero Jesse Owens' name to go back on a CPS school |url=https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/2013/10/23/18604667/olympic-hero-jesse-owens-name-to-go-back-on-a-cps-school |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=Chicago Sun-Times |language=en}}</ref>
*1980: The [[Chicago Park District]] renamed Stony Island Park, Jesse Owens Park in his honor.<ref>{{Cite web |title=JOPAC |url=http://www.jopac.org/ |access-date=2025-05-12 |website=www.jopac.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Owens (Jesse) Park {{!}} Chicago Park District |url=https://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/parks-facilities/owens-jesse-park |access-date=2025-05-12 |website=www.chicagoparkdistrict.com}}</ref>
*1980: Jesse Owens Park, in [[Tucson, Arizona]], is a center of local youth athletics there.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://tucson.com/news/local/tucson-park-to-get-million-in-improvements-city-pools-free/article_2763007f-9e1d-5ef7-9838-4c683f825716.html|title=Tucson park to get $1 million in improvements; city pools free for kids this summer|last=Duarte|first=Carmen|date=May 26, 2017|work=Arizona Daily Star|access-date=June 14, 2018}}</ref>
*1980: The [[Ohio Stadium]] track and [[List of buildings at Ohio State University|University Recreation Centers]] were named after Owens.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ohio State University Monthly March 1984 — Ohio State University Newspaper Archives |url=https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=OSUM198403-01.2.15& |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=osupublicationarchives.osu.edu}}</ref>
*1981: [[USA Track and Field]] created the [[Jesse Owens Award]] which is given annually to the country's top track and field athlete.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.usatf.org/news/view.aspx?duid=USATF_2009_11_19_13_34_17|title=Gay, Richards win 2009 Jesse Owens Awards|date=November 19, 2009|website=USA Track and Field|access-date=June 14, 2018|archive-date=December 25, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191225065322/http://www.legacy.usatf.org/news/view.aspx?duid=USATF_2009_11_19_13_34_17|url-status=dead}}</ref>
*1981: The International Athletic Association has annually presented the [[Jesse Owens International Trophy]], with the exception of a ten-year break from 2004 to 2014.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-01-28 |title=Usain Bolt, Messi, Phelps, LeBron among finalists for Prestigious Jesse Owens International Award - Trackalerts.com, track and field news website |url=https://trackalerts.com/2014/01/usain-bolt-messi-phelps-lebron-among-finalists-for-prestigious-jesse-owens-international-award/ |access-date=2025-05-17 |language=en}}</ref>
*1982: In [[Cleveland]], Ohio, a statue of Owens in his Ohio State track suit was installed at Fort Huntington Park, west of the [[Cuyahoga County Courthouse|old Courthouse]].<ref>[http://www.positivelycleveland.com/soulofcleveland Soul of Cleveland website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120722234920/http://www.positivelycleveland.com/soulofcleveland/ |date=July 22, 2012 }} Last retrieved January 31, 2009.</ref>
*1982: The [[Big Ten Athlete of the Year]] award is named in his honor.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jesse Owens Male Athlete of the Year |url=http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/big10/genrel/auto_pdf/2013-14/misc_non_event/aoy_2013.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130930093416/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/big10/genrel/auto_pdf/2013-14/misc_non_event/aoy_2013.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2013-09-30 |access-date=2025-05-16 }}</ref>
*1983: Track and field stadium at [[California State University, Los Angeles|Cal State Los Angeles]] is named in Owens's honor.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jesse Owens Track |url=https://lagoldeneagles.com/facilities/jesse-owens-track/3 |access-date=March 13, 2023 |website=California State University}}</ref>
*1984: Street south of the [[Olympiastadion (Berlin)|Olympic Stadium in Berlin]] renamed Jesse-Owens-Allee<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":13">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/03/11/world/berliners-hail-togetherness-and-jesse-owens.html|title=Berliners Hail Togetherness and Jesse Owens|last=Markham|first=James M.|date=1984|work=The New York Times|access-date=June 14, 2018}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.thoughtco.com/did-hitler-really-snub-jesse-owens-4064326|title=Did Hitler Really Snub Jesse Owens at the 1936 Berlin Olympics?|last=Flippo|first=Hyde|date=March 6, 2017|website=ThoughtCo|access-date=June 14, 2018}}</ref>
*1984: For his contribution to sports in Los Angeles, Owens was honored with a [[Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum]] [[Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum#"Court of Honor" plaques|"Court of Honor"]] plaque by the Coliseum commissioners.<ref>[http://www.lacoliseum.com/pages/memcourt.shtml "Los Angeles Coliseum Court of Honor Plaques"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100308110835/http://www.lacoliseum.com/pages/memcourt.shtml|date=March 8, 2010}} on the Coliseum website</ref>
*1984: Secondary school Jesse Owens Realschule/Oberschule in [[Berlin-Lichtenberg|Lichtenberg]], Berlin named for Owens.<ref name=":2" />
*1987: [[New York City Department of Parks and Recreation|NYC Parks]] named the playground at Stuyvesant and Lafayette Avenues the Jesse Owens Playground.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jesse Owens Playground Highlights : NYC Parks |url=https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/jesse-owens-playground/history |access-date=2025-05-12 |website=www.nycgovparks.org}}</ref>
*March 28, 1990: Posthumously presented a [[Congressional Gold Medal]] by President [[George H. W. Bush]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/03/29/sports/sports-people-track-and-field-bush-awards-owens-his-fifth-gold-medal.html|title=Sports People: Track and Field; Bush Awards Owens His Fifth Gold Medal|date=1990|work=The New York Times|access-date=June 14, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Jesse Owens' Congressional Gold Medal, Posthumously Presented by George H.W. Bush |url=https://www.thepromiseofliberty.org/entire-collection/p/27857-97w6k-37dx7-75p2e-53y5m-drdst-jmdm9-cez2g-c9a7x |access-date=2025-05-14 |website=The Promise of Liberty |language=en-US |archive-date=May 28, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250528072310/https://www.thepromiseofliberty.org/entire-collection/p/27857-97w6k-37dx7-75p2e-53y5m-drdst-jmdm9-cez2g-c9a7x |url-status=dead }}</ref>
*1990 and 1998: Two U.S. [[postage stamps]] have been issued to honor Owens, one in each year.<ref name=":2" />
*1996: Owens's hometown of [[Oakville, Alabama]], dedicated the [https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/jesse-owens-memorial-park/ Jesse Owens Memorial Park and Museum] along with a statue in his honor at the same time that the [[Olympic torch]] came through the community, 60 years after his Olympic wins. An article in the ''[[Wall Street Journal]]'' of June 7, 1996, covered the event and included this inscription written by poet [[Charles Ghigna]] that appears on a bronze plaque at the park:<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://jesseowensmemorialpark.com/wordpress1/wp-content/na/072%20Two%20Black%20Olympians%20Are%20Given%20Their%20Due_Decades%20After%20Winning%20Gold_June_7_1996.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160615212135/http://jesseowensmemorialpark.com/wordpress1/wp-content/na/072%20Two%20Black%20Olympians%20Are%20Given%20Their%20Due_Decades%20After%20Winning%20Gold_June_7_1996.pdf |archive-date=June 15, 2016 |url-status=live|title=Belatedly, Grudgingly, Two Black Olympians Are Given Their Due|date=June 7, 1996|work=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=June 14, 2018|publisher=Jesse Owens Memorial Park}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://jesseowensmemorialpark.com/wordpress1/wp-content/na/111%20Inscription%20on%20Jesse%20Owens%20Statue.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160809090015/http://jesseowensmemorialpark.com/wordpress1/wp-content/na/111%20Inscription%20on%20Jesse%20Owens%20Statue.pdf |archive-date=August 9, 2016 |url-status=live|title=Inscription on Jesse Owens Statue|website=Jesse Owens Memorial Park|access-date=June 14, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Jesse Owens statue dedicated in Ala. |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1996/06/30/Jesse-Owens-statue-dedicated-in-Ala/1225836107200/ |access-date=2025-05-15 |website=UPI |language=en}}</ref>

{{poemquote|
May this light shine forever
as a symbol to all who run
for the freedom of sport,
for the spirit of humanity,
for the memory of Jesse Owens.}}

* 1999: Ranked the sixth greatest North American athlete of the twentieth century and the highest-ranked in his sport by [[ESPN]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/sportscentury/athletes.html|title=Top N. American athletes of the century|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|publisher=ESPN|access-date=March 23, 2014}}</ref>
*1999: On the six-man shortlist for the BBC's [[BBC Sports Personality of the Century#Sports Personality of the Century Award|Sports Personality of the Century]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/sport/561352.stm|title=Ali crowned Sportsman of Century|date=December 13, 1999|publisher=[[BBC Sport]]|access-date=March 30, 2017}}</ref>
*2001: [[Ohio State University]] dedicated [[Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium]] for track and field events. A sculpture honoring Owens occupies a place of honor in the esplanade leading to the rotunda entrance to Ohio Stadium. Owens competed for the Buckeyes on the track surrounding the football field that existed prior to the 2001 expansion of Ohio Stadium. The campus also houses three recreational centers for students and staff named in his honor.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.recsports.osu.edu/ |title=Get caught |publisher=Ohio State Recreational Sports |access-date=August 31, 2010 |archive-date=September 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220902072008/https://recsports.osu.edu/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* 2002: Scholar [[Molefi Kete Asante]] listed Owens on his list of [[100 Greatest African Americans]].<ref>Asante, Molefi Kete (2002). ''100 Greatest African Americans: A Biographical Encyclopedia''. Amherst, New York: Prometheus Books. {{ISBN|1-57392-963-8}}.</ref>
* 2005: Posthumously receives the [[World Athletics|IAAF]] Golden Order of Merit.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Owens posthumously awarded IAAF Golden Order of Merit |url=https://worldathletics.org/news/news/owens-posthumously-awarded-iaaf-golden-order?urlSlug=owens-posthumously-awarded-iaaf-golden-order&type=news |access-date=May 13, 2025 |website=World Athletics}}</ref>
*2009: At the [[2009 World Championships in Athletics|2009 World Athletic Championships]] in Berlin, all members of the United States Track and Field team wore badges with "JO" on them to commemorate Owens's victories in the same stadium 73 years before.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://berlin.iaaf.org/news/kind=100/newsid=53668.html |title=12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics – Berlin 2009 – Owens and Long families to meet at Owens exhibition in Berlin |publisher=Berlin.iaaf.org |access-date=June 15, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101105140826/http://berlin.iaaf.org/news/kind%3D100/newsid%3D53668.html |archive-date=November 5, 2010 }}</ref>
*2009: The [[Drake Relays]] honored Owens as the Athlete of the Century.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2009-03-14 |title=Owens and Jones are honored as Drake Athletes of the Century |url=https://www.postbulletin.com/news/owens-and-jones-are-honored-as-drake-athletes-of-the-century |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=Rochester Post Bulletin |language=en}}</ref>
*2010: [[Ohio Historical Society]] proposed Owens as a finalist from a statewide vote for inclusion in [[Statuary Hall]] at the [[United States Capitol]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://news.osu.edu/news/2009/11/06/newsitem2595/|title=Ohio State leads effort on behalf of alumnus Jesse Owens|date=November 6, 2009|work=The Ohio State University|access-date=June 14, 2018|archive-date=June 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614144218/https://news.osu.edu/news/2009/11/06/newsitem2595/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
*November 15, 2010: The city of [[Cleveland]] renamed East Roadway, between Rockwell and Superior avenues in [[Public Square, Cleveland|Public Square]], Jesse Owens Way.<ref>[https://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_localcle/20101115/ts_yblog_localcle/jesse-owens-new-mark-on-cleveland Jesse Owens's new mark on Cleveland]. News.yahoo.com. Retrieved on September 15, 2011. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101119025927/http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_localcle/20101115/ts_yblog_localcle/jesse-owens-new-mark-on-cleveland |date=November 19, 2010}}</ref>
*2011: [[Ohio State University]] paid tribute to Owens by unveiling the Jesse Owens Memorial Statue outside the [[Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ohio State Unveils Jesse Owens Memorial Statue – Ohio State Buckeyes |url=https://ohiostatebuckeyes.com/news/2011/4/21/ohio-state-unveils-jesse-owens-memorial-statue |access-date=2025-05-11 |website=Ohio State |language=en}}</ref>
*2011: In the [[Big Ten Icons]] countdown of the Top 50 Athletes on the [[Big Ten Network]], Owens was ranked the third greatest athlete in [[Big Ten Conference|Big Ten]] history.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The One and Only Jesse Owens is Big Ten Icon No. 3 – Ohio State Buckeyes |url=https://ohiostatebuckeyes.com/news/2011/2/18/the-one-and-only-jesse-owens-is-big-ten-icon-no-3 |access-date=2025-05-14 |website=Ohio State |language=en}}</ref>
*2012: 80,000 individual pixels in the audience seating area were used as a giant video screen to show footage of Owens running around the stadium in the [[2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony|London 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony]], just after the [[2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics cauldron|Olympic cauldron]] had been lit.<ref name="DVDcomm">[[Danny Boyle]] and [[Frank Cottrell Boyce]], the director and writer of the ceremony, in their audio commentary track to the BBC DVD of the entire opening ceremony</ref>
*2012: The Jesse Owens Room, named in his honor at the [[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]] campus in [[Indianapolis]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=NCAA National Office |url=https://www.ncaa.org/sports/2021/2/9/ncaa-national-office.aspx |access-date=2025-05-12 |website=NCAA.org |language=en}}</ref>
*2016: A portion of [[List of highways numbered 36#United States|Highway 36]] beginning at I-65 Exit 328 and ending at the [[Lawrence County, Alabama|Lawrence County]] line just west of [[Danville, Alabama|Danville]] was renamed Jesse Owens Parkway.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Reports |first=Staff |date=2016-05-25 |title=Alabama highway will be dedicated to Jesse Owens |url=https://enewscourier.com/2016/05/25/alabama-highway-will-be-dedicated-to-jesse-owens/ |access-date=2025-05-15 |website=Athens The News Courier |language=en}}</ref>
*2016: The Jesse Owens Olympic Spirit Award is presented annually by the [[United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee|U.S. Olympic Committee]] to recognize those who have served as an inspiration in society.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-09-22 |title=Ali honored posthumously with 1st Owens Award |url=https://www.espn.com/olympics/story/_/id/17607131/first-jesse-owens-award-goes-posthumously-muhammad-ali |access-date=2025-05-15 |website=ESPN.com |language=en}}</ref>
*2017: Inaugural recipient of the [[Amateur Athletic Union|AAU]] Gussie Crawford Lifetime Achievement Award.<ref>{{Cite web |title=AAU Crawford Award {{!}} AAU |url=https://www.aausports.org/aau-crawford-award/ |access-date=2025-05-15 |website=www.aausports.org |language=en}}</ref>
*July 2018: Ohio governor [[John Kasich]] dedicated the 75th state park Jesse Owens State Park. It is located on [[American Electric Power|AEP]] reclaimed mining land south of Zanesville, OH.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ohiodnr.gov/news/post/kasich-opens-jesse-owens-state-park-and-wildlife-area|title=Kasich Opens Jesse Owens State Park and Wildlife Area&nbsp;– News from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources|website=ohiodnr.gov|language=en-US|access-date=July 17, 2018}}</ref>
*2021: A horticulturally propagated tree from the original Jesse Owens Olympic Oak was planted by the [[Rockefeller Park]] Lagoon.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jesse Owens Plaza in Rockefeller Park to Be Dedicated {{!}} CoolCleveland |url=https://coolcleveland.com/2023/09/jesse-owens-plaza-in-rockefeller-park-to-be-dedicated/#:~:text=Back%20in%202021,%20the%20Jesse,later%20The%20Ohio%20State%20University. |access-date=2025-05-15 |website=coolcleveland.com}}</ref> In 2022, another was planted beside the original tree at [[James Ford Rhodes High School]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jesse Owens Olympic Oak Tree Continues to take Root this Fall with New Documentary and Grafted Sapling Next to Site of Original Tree » HF&G |url=https://holdenfg.org/news/owens-olympic-oak-documentary/ |access-date=2025-05-15 |website=Holden Forests & Gardens |language=en-US}}</ref>
*2023: The team at University Circle Inc. dedicated the Jesse Owens Olympic Oak Plaza in [[Rockefeller Park]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lardakis |first=David |date=2023-09-26 |title=A Story for the Ages Lives On: The Jesse Owens Olympic Oak Plaza Dedication » Trees, Urban Forestry » HF&G |url=https://holdenfg.org/blog/a-story-for-the-ages-lives-on-the-jesse-owens-olympic-oak-plaza-dedication/ |access-date=2025-05-15 |website=Holden Forests & Gardens |language=en-US}}</ref>
*2024: Posthumously received the ''Olympians for Life'' award by [[World Olympians Association]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jesse Owens and Luz Long among 5 awarded Olympians for Life by WOA Patron Prince Albert |url=https://olympians.org/news/1869/jesse-owens-and-luz-long-among-5-awarded-olympians-for-life-by-woa-patron-prince-albert/ |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=olympians.org |language=en}}</ref>
*2024: Named the greatest U.S. [[Summer Olympic Games|Summer Olympic]] athlete of all time by ''[[The Sporting News]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-07-25 |title=Why Jesse Owens is Sporting News' choice as greatest U.S. Summer Olympics athlete of all time {{!}} Sporting News |url=https://www.sportingnews.com/us/olympics/news/jesse-owens-greatest-us-summer-olympics-athlete/6d4c5cc7e02d32db171c76a6 |access-date=2025-05-16 |website=www.sportingnews.com |language=en-us}}</ref>
*2024: A plaque in honor of Owens's track and field accomplishments on the [[#Day_of_days|Day of days]] is dedicated outside the [[University of Michigan]]'s [[Ferry Field]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hamilton |first=Jacob |title=New Jesse Owens plaque dedicated outside University of Michigan's Ferry Field on Thursday, May 9 2024. |url=https://www.mlive.com/galleries/TBBVUZMXEFBTNM55HHQ5GHY37M/ |access-date=2025-05-15 |website=mlive |language=en}}</ref>
*2024: The former home of Owens was unanimously approved to become a [[Cleveland]] [[landmark]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jesse Owens house in Fairfax named Cleveland Landmark {{!}} Cleveland City Council |url=https://www.clevelandcitycouncil.org/jesse-owens-house-fairfax-named-cleveland-landmark |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=www.clevelandcitycouncil.org |language=en}}</ref>
*[[Phoenix, Arizona]] named the Jesse Owens Medical Centre in his honor,<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/the-doctor-is-out-south-phoenixs-jesse-owens-center-plans-to-eliminate-trauma-treatment-6426241|title=The Doctor is Out South Phoenix's Jesse Owens Center Plans to Eliminate Trauma Treatment|last=Pasztor|first=David|date=September 15, 1993|work=Phoenix New Times|access-date=June 14, 2018}}</ref> as well as Jesse Owens Parkway.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.azfamily.com/story/34307530/pd-phoenix-man-charged-with-manslaughter-had-369-bac|title=PD: Phoenix man charged with manslaughter had .369 BAC|date=January 21, 2017|work=azfamily.com|access-date=June 14, 2018|archive-date=June 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614144415/http://www.azfamily.com/story/34307530/pd-phoenix-man-charged-with-manslaughter-had-369-bac|url-status=dead}}</ref>
*[[Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation|LA County Parks and Recreation]] renamed Sportsman Park to Jesse Owens Park in his honor.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-03-11 |title=Los Angeles County - Parks & Recreation |url=https://parks.lacounty.gov/jesse-owens-community-regional-park/ |access-date=2025-05-12 |website=Los Angeles County - Parks & Recreation |language=en-US}}</ref>
*[[List of public elementary schools in New York City#Region 8: Brooklyn|P.S. 26]] in [[Brooklyn]], New York is named the Jesse Owens School.<ref>{{Cite web |title=16K026 The Jesse Owens School |url=https://www.jesseowensps26.org/ |access-date=2025-05-12 |website=16K026 The Jesse Owens School |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Literature===
*2006: ''[[The Book Thief]]'' by [[Markus Zusak]] is released, in which a character named Rudy Steiner idolizes Owens.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2007/jan/06/featuresreviews.guardianreview26|title=It's a steal|last=Ardagh|first=Philip|date=January 7, 2007|work=The Guardian|access-date=June 14, 2018}}</ref>
*2025: The book ''Jesse Owens'' by {{Interlanguage link|Alain Foix|fr|Alain Foix}} was awarded the Sportilivre Prize by the Voies Civiles think tank.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jesse Owens (Folio Gallimard) by Alain Foix receives the Sportilivre2025 prize |url=https://www.francsjeux.com/en/communicates/Jesse-Owens--Folio-Gallimard--Dalin-Foix--receives-the-Sportilivre2025-prize/ |access-date=2025-05-14 |website=Francs Jeux |language=en}}</ref>

== The Jesse Owens Rising Star Award ==
Beginning in 2024, a collaboration among the Owens family, the Jesse Owens Foundation, and the [[Wanda Diamond League]] will recognize two exceptional emerging top-performing male and female athletes, aged 23 or under.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jesse Owens Rising Star Award to honour young athletes at WDL Final |url=https://www.diamondleague.com/news/general/jesse-owens-rising-star-award-to-honour-young-athletes-at-wdl-final/ |access-date=2024-09-12 |website=IDL Diamond League |language=en-US}}</ref>

Each winner will receive a bronze statuette of Owens designed by Belgian sculptor Jan Desmarets. Two [[oak]] trees will also be planted in the host city in honor of the two winners.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-09-10 |title=Jesse Owens Rising Star Award to honour young athletes at Wanda Diamond League Final - Trackalerts.com, track and field news website |url=https://trackalerts.com/2024/09/jesse-owens-rising-star-award-to-honour-young-athletes-at-wanda-diamond-league-final/ |access-date=2025-05-14 |language=en}}</ref>

The inaugural awards ceremony was held in [[Brussels]] in September 2024, honoring [[2023 World Athletics Championships|2023 World Championship]] silver medalist [[Diribe Welteji]] as the top female performer and [[Athletics at the 2024 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metres|2024 Olympic]] gold medalist [[Letsile Tebogo]] as the top male performer.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ethiopia's Welteji named first female winner of Jesse Owens Rising Star Award |url=https://sportsnow.com.ng/ethiopias-welteji-named-first-female-winner-of-jesse-owens-rising-star-award/ |access-date=May 13, 2025 |website=Sports Now}}</ref>

==Filmography==
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size: 95%;"
|- style="white-space: nowrap;" 
!Year
!Title
!Ref.
|-
|1936
|''Berlin 1936: Games of the XI Olympiad''
|<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.olympics.com/en/news/olympic-history-18-24-november-first-televised-olympic-games|title=This week in Olympic history: 18-24 November – A look back at the first televised Olympic Games|access-date=November 29, 2025|website=Olympics.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Nazis Pioneered Broadcasting... And Made Jesse Owens A Star|url=https://www.wbur.org/onlyagame/2016/02/20/jesse-owens-olympics-germans-nazi-radio|website=www.wbur.org|date=February 20, 2016|access-date=November 29, 2025|language=en}}</ref>
|-
|1938
|[[Olympia (1938 film)|''Olympia'']]
|<ref>{{Cite web|title=Leni Riefenstahl's "Olympia": Brilliant Cinematography or Nazi Propaganda?|url=https://thesportjournal.org/article/leni-riefenstahls-olympia-brilliant-cinematography-or-nazi-propaganda/|website=The Sport Journal|date=February 14, 2008|access-date=November 29, 2025|language=en-US}}</ref>
|-
|1948
|''Kings of the Olympics''
|<ref>{{Cite AV media|title=Kings of the Olympics|url=https://watch.plex.tv/movie/kings-of-the-olympics|language=en|access-date=November 29, 2025|via=watch.plex.tv}}</ref>
|-
|1948
|''Olympic Cavalcade''
|<ref>{{Cite web|title=Olympic Cavalcade|url=https://parkcircus.com/film/undefined|website=Park Circus|access-date=November 29, 2025|language=en}}{{Dead link|date=February 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref>
|-
|1964
|''[[Valentine's Day (TV series)|Valentine's Day]]: All Through the Night''
|<ref>{{Cite web|title=CTVA US Comedy - "Valentine's Day" (TCF/ABC/Hal Kanter)(1964-65) starring Tony Franciosa|url=https://ctva.biz/US/Comedy/ValentinesDay.htm|website=ctva.biz|access-date=November 29, 2025}}</ref>
|-
|1966
|''Jesse Owens Returns to Berlin''
|<ref>{{Cite web|title=“Jesse Owens returns to Berlin Olympics 1936” – IAVM|url=https://iavmuseum.org/jesse-owens-returns-to-berlin-olympics-1936/|access-date=November 29, 2025|language=en-US}}</ref>
|-
|1984
|''[[The Jesse Owens Story]]''{{efn|A [[Primetime Emmy Award]]-winning [[biographical film]] with [[Dorian Harewood]] portraying Owens.<ref name="JesseOwensStory1">{{Cite news|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/1984/0709/070908.html|title='The Jesse Owens Story': TV tells of a black star in a white world|last=Unger|first=Arthur|date=July 9, 1984|work=The Christian Science Monitor|access-date=June 14, 2018}}</ref><ref name="JesseOwensStory2">{{Cite web|url=http://www.emmys.com/shows/jesse-owens-story|title=The Jesse Owens Story|website=Television Academy|access-date=June 14, 2018}}</ref>}}
|<ref name="JesseOwensStory1" /><ref name="JesseOwensStory2" />
|-
|2012
|''[[Jesse Owens (American Experience)]]''
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jesse Owens {{!}} American Experience |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/owens/#part01 |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=www.pbs.org |language=en}}</ref>
|-
|2016
|[[Race (2016 film)|''Race'']]{{efn|[[Stephan James (actor)|Stephan James]] portrays Owens.<ref name="Race1">{{Cite news|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/race-film-review-861062|title='Race': Film Review|last=Linden|first=Sheri|date=February 18, 2016|work=The Hollywood Reporter|access-date=June 14, 2018}}</ref><ref name="Race2">{{Cite news|url=https://wtop.com/entertainment/2016/02/race-recounts-the-time-jesse-owens-left-hitler-in-the-dust/|title='Race' recounts the time Jesse Owens left Hitler in the dust|last=Fraley|first=Jason|date=February 19, 2016|work=wtop|access-date=June 14, 2018}}</ref>}}
|<ref name="Race1" /><ref name="Race2" />
|-
|2016
|''[[Olympic Pride, American Prejudice]]''
|<ref>{{Cite web|title=Olympic Pride, American Prejudice|url=https://www.kpbs.org/news/2024/07/05/olympic-pride-american-prejudice|website=KPBS Public Media|date=July 5, 2024|access-date=November 29, 2025|language=en|first=Jennifer|last=Robinson}}</ref>
|-
|2021
|''Capturing Black Lightning: Jesse Owens''
|<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=O980CwjvLww |title=Capturing Black Lightning: Jesse Owens |date=2021-08-24 |last=Amnesty Sports |access-date=2025-05-13 |via=YouTube}}</ref>
|-
|2022
|''Olympic Oaks: Continuing Jesse Owens' Legacy''
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=Olympic Oaks, Continuing Jesse Owens' Legacy |url=https://www.clevelandfilm.org/films/olympic-oaks-continuing-jesse-owens-legacy |access-date=2025-05-14 |website=www.clevelandfilm.org}}</ref>
|-
|2024
|''Triumph: Jesse Owens and the Berlin Olympics''
|<ref>{{Cite web|title=‘Triumph: Jesse Owens and the Berlin Olympics’ Review: Hitler’s Nemesis, Seen Afresh|url=https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/television/triumph-jesse-owens-and-the-berlin-olympics-review-hitlers-nemesis-seen-afresh-a3ccf3bf|website=The Wall Street Journal|date=June 18, 2024|access-date=November 29, 2025|language=en-US|first=John|last=Anderson}}</ref>
|}

===Other===
*2017: In ''[[Get Out]]'', a film directed by [[Jordan Peele]], the villainous patriarch Roman Armitage lost the qualification round for the 1936 Olympics to Owens, instigating his neurosurgical research and theft of young black men via brain transplant.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/2017/03/get-out-discussion/|title=We Really Need to Talk About That Get Out Ending|last1=Rubin|first1=Kelly|last2=Rubin|first2=Peter|date=March 1, 2017|magazine=Wired|access-date=June 14, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theverge.com/2017/2/24/14724404/jordan-peele-get-out-movie-review-race-horror-film|title=Get Out review: a ruthlessly smart racial send-up that's also terrifying|last=Robinson|first=Tasha|date=February 24, 2017|work=The Verge|access-date=June 14, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/jordan-peeles-thriller-get-release-935086|title=Jordan Peele's Thriller 'Get Out' Gets Release Date, Trailer|last=Galuppo|first=Mia|date=October 4, 2016|work=The Hollywood Reporter|access-date=June 14, 2018}}</ref>
*2019: In ''[[Jojo Rabbit]]'', directed by [[Taika Waititi]], an incarnation of [[Adolf Hitler]] humorously refers to the character Elsa as "a little female Jewish Jesse Owens".<ref>{{Cite AV media|title=Watch 'Did you see how fast she moved? Yes. Like a little female Jewish Jesse Owens. And now...' {{!}} Jojo Rabbit Clip|url=https://clip.cafe/jojo-rabbit-2019/did-see-how-fast-moved-yes/|date=June 5, 2025|language=en|access-date=November 29, 2025|via=clip.cafe|first=Taika|last=Waititi}}</ref>
*2023: In ''[[The Boys in the Boat (film)|The Boys in the Boat]]'', Jyuddah Jaymes portrays Owens in a cameo as the [[University of Washington]] [[Eight (rowing)|Eight rowing]] team enters the stadium with the United States Olympic team.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pells|first=Eddie|date=December 25, 2023|title='The Boys in the Boat' gives the Hollywood treatment to rowing during an Olympic year|url=https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/the-boys-in-the-boat-gives-the-hollywood-treatment-to-rowing-during-an-olympic-year/3729609/|access-date=December 25, 2023|website=NBC10 Philadelphia|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Lowry |first=Brian |date=December 24, 2023 |title='The Boys in the Boat' gets stuck in the shallow end of the sports-movie pool |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/24/entertainment/boys-in-the-boat-review-george-clooney/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231225040918/https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/24/entertainment/boys-in-the-boat-review-george-clooney/index.html |archive-date=December 25, 2023 |access-date=December 25, 2023 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref>

==Further reading==
*{{cite book |last1=Neimark |first1=Paul G. |title=The Jesse Owens Story |publisher=[[G. P. Putnam's Sons|Putnam]] |year=1970 |pages=109 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Jesse_Owens_Story/eRLwpwAACAAJ?hl=en}}
*{{cite book |last1=Neimark |first1=Paul G. |title=Jesse: The Man Who Outran Hitler |publisher=[[Ballantine Books]] |year=1985 |pages=224 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Jesse/Ix-Y363mYB4C?hl=en}}
*{{cite book |author=[[Jeremy Schaap]] |title=Triumph: The Untold Story of Jesse Owens and Hitler's Olympics |publisher=[[Houghton Mifflin Harcourt]] |year=2007 |pages=272 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Triumph/e-SvBgAAQBAJ?hl=en}}
*{{cite book |last1=Edmondson |first1=Jacqueline |title=Jesse Owens: A Biography |publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing]] |year=2007 |pages=136 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Jesse_Owens/vbjOEAAAQBAJ?hl=en}}
*{{cite book |author=[[Jeff Burlingame]] |title=Jesse Owens: I Always Loved Running |publisher=[[Enslow Publishing]] |year=2008 |pages=128 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Jesse_Owens/aUDV71LSFFMC?hl=en}}
*{{cite book |last1=Gentry |first1=Tony |last2=Wagner |first2=Heather Lehr |title=Jesse Owens: Champion Athlete |publisher=[[Infobase|Infobase Publishing]] |year=2009 |pages=116 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Jesse_Owens/g3vShjjb8EUC?hl=en}}
*{{cite book |last1=Buckley |first1=James |title=Who Was Jesse Owens? |publisher=[[Penguin Group|Penguin Workshop]] |year=2015 |pages=112 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Who_Was_Jesse_Owens/gAs4DwAAQBAJ?hl=en}}
*{{cite book |last1=Brooks |first1=F. Erik |last2=Jones |first2=Kevin M. |title=Jesse Owens: A Life in American History |publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing]] |year=2022 |pages=200 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Jesse_Owens/xQPHEAAAQBAJ?hl=en}}

==See also==
* [[List of multiple Olympic gold medalists at a single Games]]
* [[NCAA Division I Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championships|NCAA Track and Field Championships]]
* [[USA Track & Field Championships|USA Track and Field Championships]]
* [[Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium]]
* [[Jesse Owens International Trophy]]
* [[Night of Legends awards]]

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Sister project links|s=no|v=no|b=no|wikt=no}}

* {{Official website|http://www.jesseowens.com/}}
* [http://www.jesseowensmuseum.org/ Jesse Owens Museum]
* [http://www.jesseowens.info/ Jesse Owens Information]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRkeahelZHM Footage of Jesse Owens winning 100m Olympic gold in 1936]
* [https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/owens/player/ Jesse Owens] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170224060359/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/owens/player/ |date=February 24, 2017 }} – An ''[[American Experience]]'' Documentary
* ''[https://archive.org/details/this_is_your_life_jesse_owens This is your Life: Jesse Owens]'', with [[Ralph Edwards]] (video, 25 min.). [[NBC]], 1960
* [https://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0912.html Obituary, New York Times, April 1, 1980]
* {{IMDb name|654389}}
* {{IMDb title|id=0889135|title=Jesse and Me (2019)}}
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061129110943/http://www.milkshakefilms.com/jesse/ |title=Official "Jesse Owens Movie" Website |date=mdy}}
* [https://www.espn.com/sportscentury/features/00016393.html Owens's accomplishments and encounter with Adolf Hitler (ESPN)]
* [http://tesla.liketelevision.com/liketelevision/tuner.php?channel=222&format=tv&theme=history Jesse Owens video newsreel]
* [http://tesla.liketelevision.com/liketelevision/tuner.php?channel=255&format=movie&theme=guide Jesse Owens video in Riefenstahl's Olympia (1936)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227083247/http://tesla.liketelevision.com/liketelevision/tuner.php?channel=255&format=movie&theme=guide |date=February 27, 2021 }}
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060705211206/http://www.usolympicteam.com/26_18919.htm |title=Jesse Owens at the United States Olympic Team |date=July 5, 2006 }}
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050324011942/http://chotank.com/jesseowens.html |title=Path of the Olympic Torch to Owens's birthplace in North Alabama |date=mdy}}
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131006091915/http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/face/Article.jsp?id=h-1259 |title=Jesse Owens article |date=October 6, 2013 }}, ''[[Encyclopedia of Alabama]]''
* {{USATF Hall of Fame|id=126}}
* {{Team USA Hall of Fame|new_id=jesse-owens}}

{{Navboxes|title=Jesse Owens|list1=
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{{IAAF Hall of Fame}}
{{Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year navbox}}
{{NCAA Theodore Roosevelt Award}}
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{{USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners in men's long jump}}
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{{Footer Collegiate Track Field Cross Country Athlete Hall of Fame}}
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{{Portal bar|Biography|Olympics|Sport of athletics |United States}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Owens, Jesse}}
[[Category:Jesse Owens| ]]
[[Category:1913 births]]
[[Category:1980 deaths]]
[[Category:African-American track and field athletes]]
[[Category:American men long jumpers]]
[[Category:American men sprinters]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1936 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Congressional Gold Medal recipients]]
[[Category:Deaths from lung cancer in Arizona]]
[[Category:World record setters in the sport of athletics]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1936 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Ohio State Buckeyes men's track and field athletes]]
[[Category:Ohio State University alumni]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field]]
[[Category:People from Lawrence County, Alabama]]
[[Category:Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany]]
[[Category:Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Olympic Order]]
[[Category:Alabama Republicans]]
[[Category:Arizona Republicans]]
[[Category:Ohio Republicans]]
[[Category:Track and field athletes from Alabama]]
[[Category:Track and field athletes from Cleveland]]
[[Category:USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American sportsmen]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]
[[Category:NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners]]
[[Category:USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners]]