Jesse Owens Award
The Jesse Owens Award is the highest annual honor presented by USA Track and Field (USATF) to recognize exceptional achievement in track and field. Named after James Cleveland Owens, known as Jesse Owens, the award celebrates his legacy as a groundbreaking African-American athlete who won four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Owens' remarkable accomplishments includes setting Olympic and world records, making him a prominent figure in both sports and civil rights history. Established in 1981, the award initially recognized the top American track and field athlete regardless of gender, with the first recipient being Edwin Moses. Over time, the format evolved, and since 1996, separate awards have been given to male and female athletes. The female version was renamed the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Award in 2013 to honor another legendary athlete. Prominent recipients of the award include sprinter Allyson Felix, who has won it multiple times, and Michael Johnson, known for winning it consecutively. The Jesse Owens Award not only acknowledges athletic excellence but also serves as a symbol of the ongoing struggle for equality within sports.
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Jesse Owens Award
The Jesse Owens Award is the highest annual track and field sports award given out by USA Track and Field (USATF). It is named for the trailblazing African-American athlete, James Cleveland Owens, better known as Jesse Owens.
Overview
Owens won four gold medals in track and field Olympic competitions at the 1936 games in Berlin, Germany. He won gold in the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash, long jump, and as part of the 4x100 relay team. Owens set an Olympic record in the 200-meter dash. He also set a world record for the long jump that he maintained for a quarter of a century. While a student at Ohio State University, he simultaneously broke three world records during one competition.
During his career, he became a role model and promoted physical education programs in schools. He also became a goodwill ambassador for the Olympics during the 1960s. In addition, he was an inspirational public speaker and worked with various organizations that helped unprivileged youths. In 1976, Owens was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which is awarded to significant people who have contributed to the United States through cultural contributions and the promotion of peace. In 1990, George H.W. Bush posthumously awarded Owens the Congressional Gold Medal for his achievements and contributions to society.
Owens and the subsequent award named after him became a symbol of the struggle of the African-American athlete for equality and civil rights. Owens was born in Alabama in 1913 and was the son of poor sharecroppers and the grandson of slaves. After moving to Cleveland, Ohio, he began to break school track and field records before becoming the first American to win four gold medals in track and field sports in a single Olympiad.
Owens was quoted as saying that he felt more welcome by the German Nazi regime in the 1936 Berlin Olympics, who aggressively promoted the White Aryan “race” as superior, than his home country of the United States. While in Germany, he was allowed to socialize with other Olympic competitors and stay with fellow athletes in the same hotel. Whereas in the United States, he faced segregation and discrimination that prevented him from making much money from his athletic career and felt that he was not officially recognized for his achievements, simply because of his skin color.
The Jesse Owens Award was instituted in 1981, a year after Owens died at age sixty-six. The first winner of the award was Edwin Moses, a two-time Olympic gold-medal winner in the 400-meter hurdles. At first, the Jesse Owens Award was given to the best American track and field athlete, regardless of gender. Runner Mary Decker was the first woman to capture the award in 1983. In 1996, two Jesse Owens Awards were presented annually, honoring both male and female athletes. In 2013, USATF renamed the female version of the award the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Award in honor of the track and field star. Jackie Joyner-Kersee won the Jesse Owens Award in 1986 and 1987.
Sprinter Allyson Felix won a record five Jesse Owens Awards in 2005, 2007, 2010, 2012, and 2015. She also won the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Award four times in 2005, 2010, 2012, and 2015. Four-time Olympic gold medal-winning sprinter Michael Johnson won three consecutive Jesse Owens Awards from 1994 to 1996.
Bibliography
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May, Sam. "The Jesse Owens Rising Star Award to Honour Young Athletes." Inside the Games, 11 Sept. 2024, www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1148533/jesse-owens-rising-star-award-athletes. Accessed 13 Jan. 2025.
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“Two More Jesse Owens Gold Medals to be Auctioned.” Around the Rings, 12 July 2021, www.infobae.com/aroundtherings/articles/2021/07/12/two-more-jesse-owens-gold-medals-to-be-auctioned/. Accessed 14 Jan. 2022.
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