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About Owens

Jesse Owens was born September 12, 1913 in a small town in Alabama. Owens grew up in poverty and was the youngest of ten children. In High school he discovered his talent for jumping and sprinting. He went to Ohio State University on an Athletic Scholarship.

One day at a track meet at Michigan University he set the world records for the 100-yard dash (9.4 sec), 220-yard dash(20.3 sec), 220-yard low Hurdles, and the Long Jump (8.4 meters) within the first 45 minutes. After this he was invited to the 1936 Summer Olympics along with 24 other black Athletes, twice as many as the 1932 Summer Olympics. After the Olympics he went into Public Communications giving speeches to young people about how segragation could helped be stopped by athletics. He also tried to open a laundry mat in Ohio. The laundry mat was quikely foreclosed.

Jesse Owens died March 31, 1980. In 1974, before his death, he was put into the Track and Feild hall of fame.