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James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens arrived confident
in the Berlim-1936 Olympic Games. "Without wanting to be
arrogant, I think I will win 3 gold Olympic medals", said
the black american from Alabama.
He
had plenty of reasons for this confidence. A year before he had
four World Bests (100m, 220 yards, 220 yards hurdles and long
jump) in the Big Ten meeting in the space of just 45 minutes!
And Jesse Owens not only accomplished his promise, but surpassed
it winning four gold medals: 100m, 200m, long jump and 4x100m.
He also broke the Olympic record in all these events except the
100m.
In
the spite of this amazing achievement, Jesse didn't had an easy
life when he returned to the United States. To get money he
accepted challenges like running against horses, dogs and motorcycles.
"I couldn't make nationwide advertisements because it
wouldn't be acceptable in the South. Hitler didn't complimented
me, but I wasn't invited to go to the White House to receive the
compliments of my country's president.", protested Jesse
Owens.
He
just achieved finance stability on the 50's when he opened a
public relations company and made lectures around USA. Jesse
also supported many sport programs for youths. In
1976 Jesse Owens received from the president Gerald R. Ford the Freedom
Medal, the greatest decoration a civilian can earn in USA.
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History of Athletics
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