ACHIEVEMENTS
	- Jesse set or tied national high school records in the 100 and 200-yard dash categories as well as long jump. - After setting national records in high school, he attended Ohio State University, where he became an All-American. - On May 25, 1935, at the Big Ten Conference Championships, Owens broke three world records (long jump, 220-yard dash and 220-yard low hurdles) and tied a fourth (100-yard dash), all in a 45 minute span. - In his junior year at Ohio State, Owens competed in 42 events and won them all, including four in the Big Ten Championships, four in the NCAA Championships, two in the AAU Championships and three at the Olympic Trials. - Jesse was the first American in the history of Olympic Track and Field to win four gold medals in a single Olympics. - In the 1936 Berlin Olympics, he won four gold medals: 100 meter dash in 10.3 seconds (tying the world record), long jump with a jump of 26' 5 1/4" (Olympic record), 200 meter dash in 20.7 seconds (Olympic record), and 400 meter relay (first leg) in 39.8 seconds (Olympic and world record). - In the 200-meter dash on August 5, 1936, Owens won in an Olympic record of 20.7 seconds, beating out Mack Robinson, the older brother of baseball legend Jackie Robinson. - After the Olympics, Jesse worked to benefit other people and would often lend his name to advertisers for their products. - Growing up poor, Owens always longed for the good things in life. After achieving success, Jesse would go on to purchase one new car every year for the rest of his life, as well as large homes for both himself and his parents. - In 1976, Jesse was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest award bestowed upon a civilian, by Gerald R. Ford. - Owens was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 1990 by President George H.W. Bush.
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