Famous Athletes: Jesse Owens
James Cleveland “Jesse” Owens was born in 1913 in Alabama in the United States. He’s considered by many as one of the greatest athletes of all time. He won 4 gold medals at the Olympic games in 1936 in Berlin (in then Nazi occupied Germany). He won the Gold medal in the 100m, 200m, long jump and 4 x 100m relay at the games. Jesse Owens received several tributes in his later years and following his death. In 1970 Jesse Owens was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in the US. President Gerald Ford Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to him in 1976. A. Mrkos at Klet discovered an asteroid in 1980 and named it after Jesse Owens. Jesse Owens died of lung cancer in 1980 after smoking for 35 years. Before his death in that year he was trying to convince then US President Jimmy Carter not to boycott the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow (then in the USSR). A street close to the Olympic stadium in Berlin, Germany was named after Jesse Owens in 1984. In 1990 US President George H. W. Bush awarded the Congressional Gold Medal posthumously to Jesse Owens. Two US postage stamps have been issued to honor Jesse Owens, 1 in 1990 and 1 in 1998. At this year’s World Athletics Championships in Berlin, Germany all US Track and Field team members wore badges with “JO” to commemorate his victories in the same stadium 73 years ago.
