Track and Field Star
1980
Bio:
Jesse Owens, considered by many sports experts to be the greatest track and field star in American history, was a classic American success story – an individual rising to the top through sheer ability and hard work. The athlete who won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic games in Berlin started to gain national recognition when has was 13. He was the first junior high school student to clear six feet in the high jump and leap 22 feet in the board jump. He continued to rewrite the record books at Ohio State University where, as a freshman, he toppled world records in the 60-meter and 60-yard dashes. In his sophomore year he put on one of the most fantastic exhibitions in athletic history when he shattered three world records and tied another within an hour at the Big 10 Conference Championships at the University of Michigan. At the Olympic games, he won gold medals in the 100-meter, 200-meter, broad jump and as a member of the relay team. In July 1976 he was awarded the Medal of Freedom, the highest honor a United States civilian can receive, from President Ford. In presenting the award, the President told Owens, “Your character, your achievement, always will be a source of inspiration.”