Jesse Owens | Biography in 5 minutes | The Greats | Infotainment Video - video Dailymotion

TRENDEST INFOTAINMENT

JESSE OWENS | Infotainment Video | Series: The Greats | 5 Minute Biography |  Video description: This video is part of the TRENDEST INFOTAINMENT series that highlights the greatest people in history from all walks of life. Each 5-minute short biography covers all aspects of the featured person’s life, including rare videos of them. In this video, we feature Jesse Owens. Discover the remarkable journey of this influential figure and their lasting impact on the world. James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens (September 12, 1913 – March 31, 1980) was an American track and field athlete who won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games. Owens specialized in the sprints and the long jump and was recognized in his lifetime as "perhaps the greatest and most famous athlete in track and field history". He set three world records and tied another, all in less than an hour, at the 1935 Big Ten track meet in Ann Arbor, Michigan, a feat that has never been equaled and has been called "the greatest 45 minutes ever in sport".  About TRENDEST INFOTAINMENT: Welcome to Trendest Infotainment, your ultimate destination for a diverse range of content that educates, entertains, and inspires! From in-depth celebrity biographies and fascinating history videos to the latest in science and technology, we bring you an expansive collection of infotainment videos. Explore the stories of legendary sports personalities, dive into the history of the World Wars, marvel at wildlife documentaries, and enjoy our informative and funny shorts. There’s something for everyone on Trendest Infotainment!  Subscribe now: www.youtube.com/@UCvtG20NOq0X7l7ru-z1yBhw   #Infotainment #Documentaries #HistoryVideos #ScienceAndTech #CelebrityBiographies   Follow Trendest Media:  • YouTube:  1) TRENDEST MOVIES: www.youtube.com/@TRENDEST_MOVIES_ENGLISH  2) TRENDEST KIDS: www.youtube.com/@TRENDEST_KIDS  • Instagram:  TRENDEST INFOTAINMENT: https://www.instagram.com/trendestinfotainment/  • Facebook: TRENDEST INFOTAINMENT: https://www.facebook.com/TrendestInfotainment/  COPYRIGHT:  We hold the proper licenses for all videos published on YouTube. For any questions, please contact: mail@trendest.in  AYA Media Private Limited & TRENDEST Media Private Limited are companies registered under the laws of India and located in the state of Kerala, India.

Transcript

00:00♪

00:30Jesse Owens was the son of a sharecropper, and the grandson of a slave.

00:35But he had the world's attention at the 1936 Berlin Olympics,

00:38when he left Hitler's Aryan supremacy theories in the dust,

00:42and collected four individual gold medals.

00:45Owens was christened James Cleveland when he was born in Alabama in 1913.

00:50But a school teacher gave him the name he is best known as,

00:53when she asked his name,

00:55and mistakenly entered the initials JC as Jesse in the school rule book.

01:01Owens was still at high school when he equaled the world record for the 100-yard dash.

01:06At Ohio State University, he became known as the Buckeye Bullet,

01:10and won a record eight championships.

01:12However, as an African-American student, he was forced to live off campus,

01:17and America's racial laws also forbade him to eat out with his white teammates

01:21when the athletics team traveled around the United States.

01:24But the determined athlete could not be held back.

01:27And on May 25, 1935, he astounded America by equaling the world record for the 100-yard dash,

01:34and setting world records in the long jump, the 220-yard dash, and the 220-yard low hurdles.

01:40This set him up as a force to be reckoned with at the 1936 Olympics.

01:46Adolf Hitler planned to use the Berlin Olympics to showcase the superiority of Germany's Aryan people.

01:52But Owens' extraordinary achievements put paid to that,

01:56and by the end of the games, the Germans themselves were cheering him on.

02:01German athlete Lutz Long even gave him some friendly advice, which helped him win the long jump.

02:07It took a lot of courage for him to befriend me in front of Hitler, Owens later said.

02:11You can melt down all the medals and cups I have,

02:14and there wouldn't be a plating on the 24-carat friendship I felt for Lutz Long.

02:21Although it was commonly believed that Hitler refused to acknowledge the black champion,

02:25Owens said the leader rose and waved at him as he went past following one of his wins.

02:30In fact, Owens said, the only leader to snub him was his own,

02:34the President of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt,

02:37who didn't even send him a congratulatory telegram.

02:43After the games, Owens returned to the States to follow up on some potential endorsement deals,

02:49rather than competing in Sweden with the rest of the team.

02:52Sporting authorities revoked his amateur status, ending his athletics career.

02:58But Owens was unrepentant, as he did not receive any sporting scholarships,

03:02and needed to support his young family.

03:05Unfortunately, prejudice made it impossible for a black athlete to make a living from endorsements,

03:10so Owens turned to professional running, taking part in stunts such as racing a horse in Cuba.

03:16He won by 20 yards.

03:19Owens later said, people say that it was degrading for an Olympic champion to run against a horse,

03:24but what was I supposed to do?

03:26I had four gold medals, but you can't eat four gold medals.

03:31The great sprinter struggled to get by when his running days were over,

03:35going into the dry cleaning business, and even working as a gas station attendant.

03:39But in the late 1960s, he started to carve a name for himself as a goodwill ambassador,

03:45spreading the message that with determination, anyone could achieve greatness.

03:49He participated in events such as the opening of the American Embassy in the Ivory Coast in 1971,

03:55where the street was renamed in his honour.

03:59The mayor of Abidjan said calling the street Rue Jesse Owens celebrated the athlete's achievements,

04:05and commemorated his contribution to disproving Nazi racialist theory.

04:10In 1976, US President Gerald Ford awarded him a Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honour.

04:17Four years later, following Owens' death, President Jimmy Carter paid tribute.

04:22Perhaps no athlete better symbolised the human struggle against tyranny, poverty and racial bigotry, Carter said.

04:29His work with young athletes, as an unofficial ambassador overseas,

04:33and a spokesman for freedom are a rich legacy to his fellow Americans.

04:52To be continued

Jesse Owens | Biography in 5 minutes | The Greats | Infotainment Video

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