Jesse Owens: in profile
Jesse Owens was a black American sprinter who won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin – a feat that shattered Adolf Hitler’s plans to use the games as a showcase for Aryan supremacy.
President Roosevelt never publicly acknowledged Owens’ triumph. However, in 1976 Gerald Ford awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in recognition of what is among the most iconic sporting achievements of the 20th century.
This content forms part of our history hero series.
When did you first hear about Owens?
It was at school while studying for my history O-level. I remember being fascinated by the story of this incredible black athlete who, by winning four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, put a huge dent in Adolf Hitler’s myth of an Aryan “master race”.
What made him a hero?
He absolutely never, ever gave up – whatever the odds, whatever prejudices he was confronted with. We’re talking here about a legendary athlete who was born with some kind of growth on his chest – his mother removed it herself without anaesthetic when he was a boy. Then, when he went to Ohio State University, he couldn’t live on campus or eat with white athletes because he was black. Not even that could stop him in his tracks.
And the prejudice didn’t end after his gold medal haul in Berlin. When New York’s Waldorf Astoria hosted a celebration marking his incredible performance in the games, he wasn’t permitted to enter the hotel through the main doors – and had to take the freight elevator – simply because he was black.
What was Owens’ finest hour?
I’d say that there were two. The first came on 25 May 1935 when, in just 45 minutes, he broke the world records for the 220-yard dash, the 220-yard low hurdles and the long jump, and equalled the world record for the 100-yard dash.
Then, of course, there was his immortal performance in Berlin the following year, when he won four gold medals [100m, 200m, long jump and relay] right under the noses of the Nazis, who thought he was inferior just because of the colour of his skin. These two performances surely mark him out as the greatest athlete of the 20th century.
What kind of person was he?
He was resourceful and did what he had to do to survive. He even raced against horses to make a bit of money. When asked why, he said: “You can’t eat four gold medals.”
You see, life wasn’t always that easy for him after he retired – he worked in a gas station and as a janitor and was even convicted for tax evasion. Above all, he was human, with all the flaws and contradictions that come with that.
Can you see any parallels between his life and your own?
Absolutely none! I’d love to have been as fast as him when I was younger but quickly realised that that wasn’t case. I was quite rapid over the first 20 metres, then slowed down very quickly! So I threw myself into rugby rather than athletics.
What would you ask him if you could meet him?
I’d ask him if winning the four golds in Berlin made all the prejudice he’d had to endure as a young athlete worthwhile.
Ross Kemp is best known for playing Grant Mitchell in EastEnders. His latest series include Ross Kemp: Shipwreck Treasure Hunter, which aired on Sky History
This content first appeared in the May 2022 issue of BBC History Magazine
Discover more history heroes, our monthy series in which popular figures from the present tell us about who inspired them from the past