Jesse Owens
An Amazing Runner
Early Years
A lot of people know about Jesse Owens running years, but do they know about his years before that? When he was a little boy, Jesse lived with his parents. His family was very poor and he had to work so his family could eat. When Jesse was 9 years old, he and his family moved to Cleveland, Ohio so they could live a better life. Jesse's real name is James Cleveland Owens but his nickname was J.C.. Jesse had a very thick southern accent and his teacher thought that he said Jesse when he really said J.C. From then on, his name was Jesse.
Rising Star
When Jesse was at East Technical High school, he was a nationally recognized as a very fast sprinter. He was setting records for the 100 and 200 yard dashes as well as the long jump. At the 1935 Big Ten championships, Jesse had a bad injury but still got a world record in the 100 yard dash. He also set a long jump of 26-81/4 on the same exact day. That was a very big day for Jesse Owens. Jesse competed in 42 events that year, winning all of them.
1936 Olympic Games
Jesse Owens competed in the 1936 Olympic games. Jesse got 4 gold medals and broke 2 Olympic records. The African-Americans on the USA team won 6 out of the 11 gold medals! They really helped the USA. Jesse was the most dominant athlete to compete. Jesse was very confident and he had faith in himself and that is very important. The Olympics were a very big deal and for Jesse to be in it was a very big deal.
Later Years
In Jesse' s later years, after retired as a runner, Jesse joined the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team for a couple of years. He raced against cars and horses. After all of that, Jesse set up a business for himself. I think that Jesse Owens will always think back to the time that he was a very successful runner!
Reflection
People all around the world should know about Jesse. He is a very important person in the world of running. Because of Jesse, a lot of kids want to be a runner just like him. Because of Jesse, little kids want to be exactly like him when they grow up. Even when Jesse was alive, he would teach kids how to be a good runner. Everyone should know about Jesse Owens importance.