Jesse “J.C” Owens, the son of a sharecropper and grandson of a slave, is a renowned and popular historical figure. He is treated with awe for his physical accomplishments as a record-breaking Olympic champion, but he is also recognized for overcoming the humiliating and abusive treatment he encountered while working towards this goal. Owens was born on September 12, 1913 in Alabama, as the tenth and final child of Mary and Henry Owens. When he was young, Owens suffered from a severe lung disease, pneumonia (Israel 5), however he still managed to swim and fish, and develop a love for running (Israel 6). Owens did not officially attend elementary school, but he did attend Cleveland East Technical for his high school years where he met a coach …show more content…
He is widely considered the best athlete of his time. In 1928 he won gold medals for the 100 yard dash and 200 yard dash at the National Interscholastic Championship. Next, he won six gold medals in running, long-jumping, and hurdling (bio.com). In 1936, at the Olympics in Germany, he set three new world records in the long jump, 200 meter race, and 400 meter relay, and he tied for the 100 meter dash (Israel 2). In all, he took home four Olympic medals. After all of this happened, he managed the unthinkable when he obtained a Nazi salute from Hitler after proving him wrong (Israel 2). The same year he won The associated Press Athlete of the Year Award. Jesse had accomplished so much that many Ivy league schools desired his presence. On top of his 3 previous broken records, in 1937 he broke another five records and tieing a sixth one (bio.com). He did this all in a matter of 40 minutes (Israel 16). Then, in the long jump competition, he soared 26.8 feet and broke the record by half a foot (Israel 16). In 1974, Owens was inducted in the U.S.A. Track and Field Hall of Fame, and in 1976 he won the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 1983, Owens was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Committee Hall of Fame (bio.com). Despite of all his setbacks and struggles, Owens athletic accomplishments were historic, and many decades after his gold medals he was finally officially recognized for …show more content…
He once said "I always loved running – it was something you could do by yourself and under your own power. You could go in any direction, fast or slow as you wanted, fighting the wind if you felt like it, seeking out new sights just on the strength of your feet and the courage of your lungs (jesseowens.com).” Fortunately, this little boy from the South who was restricted by his race, was able to convince himself of his own athletic talents, and use them to propel him to great heights. Unfortunately, despite all of his accomplishments, Owens was never given the recognition he deserved at the time. However, now he has taken his place in the history books and is touted as a role model for people of all
Jim Thorpe’s is considered to be the greatest player of the 20th century from many people. He was born on May 28, 1887, with his twin brother Charlie Thorpe. His parents Hiram Thorpe and Charlotte Thorpe were mixed native American and European. So when Jim was born he was given a native name which was Wa-Tho-Huk which meant “bright path” which was correct for his future ahead. Jim and Charlie Thorpe were very close siblings.
Some achievements in Shauns career are in highschool. He had his number retired and broke his school record in rushing yards and touchdowns in one game, year and career. His College achievements were most touchdowns in career 50, most rushing yards in a season 1383.Some more are most rushes in a game 36, and most touchdowns in a game at
Grant Fulton graduated from the University of Pretoria in South Africa at 23. At the university, he excelled in biology. While not in class, he was on the field. He was a young field hockey player with a dream–to become an Olympian. “I was sitting on the floor of my dorm waiting to hear who would be going to the Olympics,” Fulton said.
1. Jim Thorpe; has been characterized as one of the greatest athletes America has ever seen. Thorpe was born on May 28, 1887 in a single room cabin in small town Oklahoma, Prague. Jim attended school at an all indian establishment in Pennsylvania, although he began his athletic career somewhere else. He began playing football and running track.
The number 42 has been retired from Major League Baseball. Jackie Robinson was a legend in the baseball community. He was the first black person to break the color barrier in sports. With a story that is hard to imagine, this biography should be interesting.
He won multiple world titles and lost very few matches. Kids dream of coming home with an olympic gold title and for some people like Cael that dream came true. He won the olympic gold medal in 2004 with an incredible undefeated record that year. He beat the best wrestlers around the world in a dominant performance, outscoring them 43-3 in the olympic tournament. When it was all said and done he told the press he was just thankful to have
Thorpe’s jump also earned him a spot on the school’s track team, and he was soon winning events in the high jump,
In the beginning of his seven years with San Francisco 49ers, Owens was drafted in the third round. This was a humble beginning. In his career, he soared to heights of greatness to become the second ranked player in NFL history after accomplishing 15, 934 receiving yards, 1,078 receptions and 153 receiving touchdowns. Further, he has won is a six times Pro bowl selection, five times first team all pro selection and three times NFL receiving touchdown leader. Three touchdowns ahead of Owens, is Randy Moss.
A man known as brother, father, soldier, outlaw, avenger of the poor; a man known as Jesse James was born on September 5, 1847 in Kearney, Missouri and assassinated only miles away in St. Joseph, Missouri on April 3, 1882 (Jesse James, Umsystem.edu). He was as notorious as the president was famous, but even with hundreds hoping for the bounty on his head, James was able to evade officials and remain a mystery. This man “was literally a legend” (Stiles, prologue). His crimes’ profit adds up to an estimated amount of $200,000 (Jesse James Biography, Biography.com), which today could be over 3 million dollars. The assassination of Jesse James is justified because he was not the hero people thought him to be and had murdered many who stood
“His stunning achievement of four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic games in Berlin has made him the best remembered athlete in Olympic history” (“Biography”). It is a myth that Hitler did not want to shake Owens’s hand because he is black. Besides
These are some of the athletes that were prominent during the Harlem Renaissance. Jesse Owens was an American track and field athlete and four time olympic gold medalist in the 1936 games in Berlin. The events he won gold in are the 100-meter dash, long jump, 200-meter dash and 400-meter relay. Some of the world records he set are running the 100-meter dash in 10.3 seconds, jumping 26 feet in long jump, doing the 200-meter dash in 20.7 seconds and the relay in 39.8 seconds.
Do you have to be famous to be a hero? Do you have to have billions of dollars to be a hero? Do you have to have superpowers to be a hero? No, you don’t have to have billions of dollars or superpowers to be a hero.
People like Jackie Robinson broke that barrier by their natural athletic ability, and became an inspiration to athletes all over the
That was a day both of them would remember, and Jackie knew she would be back,” (encyclopedia.com). Some of the other times she won at the Olympics include winning gold and bronze in the 1988 and 1992 games. She also still holds the world record for the Olympic heptathalon that she set in 1988 in Seoul, Korea. Jackie was a former long jump world record holder too, but her record was broken in 1988(biography.com, jackiejoynerkersee.com, britannica.com). Some things that most people do not know about her is that she is incredibly kind.
As has been noted in the previous paragraph Chris McCandless was a brave human being. Chris made an impact in life as well as on the trail. On page 3 it said that “Chris excelled academically and had been an elite athlete.” Although he didn’t run in college, he was the captain of his cross country team at Woodson High School in Virginia. While