The Buckeye Bullet: Paid In The 1936 Berlin Olympics

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Jesse Owens, The Buckeye Bullet, won four medals in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Who is this incredible man, and how did he achieve this great standard that lies before him? Let’s start from the very beginning. James Cleveland ‘Jesse’ Owens was born in Alabama in 1913. He was a frail young boy who always helped out his family in anyway possible. One day, his family was able to move to Ohio, where he was able to achieve his full potential. Also, his nickname Jesse came from a strict teacher who could not hear through his thick Southern accent and thought he said Jesse, while he said J.C. This is how his nickname came around to the world. While in high school, Jesse was able to make himself known, by sprinting long distances and creating …show more content…

He won four competitions in the NCAA Championships, AAU Championships, and a few events at the Olympic trails. He made records in forty-five minutes that were never beat ever since. With all of these achievements he was able to move forward to join the Olympics. Overall, the Buck Eye Bullet was a talented man who was able to compete in competitions that were physically demanding, and he was still able to win them and make world records doing so. With all this in mind Owens was able to move forward and take part in the Berlin Olympics of …show more content…

He could not even shake hands with World leaders of the time. Also, he was treated so lowly like a regular African American person. He had to sit in the back of the bus, and he was not granted any privileges due to the color of his skin. He also was invited to a party to celebrate, but he had to take the freight elevator though all of this was truly ironic for his case. Though he received discrimination it was not the worst of things that he had to face. After the Olympic, usually athletes were offered jobs in commercials and such due to their fame and popularity. However, Owens came home to no offers, and he struggled to make a living to no jobs. In his later life he took other job offers and he was an inspirational speaker to others. In the end of his life, he lost to a battle of lung cancer. James Owens will forever be remembered for his amazing skills in the Olympics and his inspirational journey that took him there, too. Jesse Owens is still a leader to us all that we can achieve anything we put ourselves into even if times as rough around us all. We can all be forerunners of James Cleveland

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