Jesse Owens accomplished what no other man in history had done up to the time: win four gold medals at an Olympic games.
He came from a very meager existence. He was the grandson of a slave, and the son of sharecroppers in the Old South. When he was recruited to run track for Ohio State University, he worked his way through school by working several jobs. He worked as a night elevator operator, a waiter, he pumped gas, worked in the library stacks, and served a stint as a page in the Ohio Statehouse, all of this in between practice and record setting on the field in intercollegiate competition.
"During a time of deep-rooted segregation, he not only discredited Hitler's master race theory, but also affirmed that individual excellence, rather than race or national origin, distinguishes one man from another."
You can find his story, as well as other great facts here: www.jesseowens.com
Here's an inspirational video from a high schooler about Jesse Owens from youtube:
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