Early Life
James Cleveland Owens was born on September 12, 1913 in Oakville, Alabama to Henry and Emma Owens. In 1922, his family moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where he became known as Jesse and his athletic career began. When he was fifteen, Jesse set Junior High School Records in the high jump and broad jump, becoming the first Junior High-Schooler to jump higher than six feet. In high school, he wan all of his major meets, including the Ohio State Meet three times. As a Senior, Jesse set a world record in the broad jump with a distance of 24 feet, 11 3/4 inches. He also raced at the national interscholastic meet and set World High School Records in the 100 yard dash and 220 yard dash, with his time in the 100 yard dash tie-ing the accepted world record.
Owens was recruited by many colleges, and decided to attend Ohio State University, despite them not being able to offer him an athletic scholarship. In order to pay for his schooling, Jesse worked many part time jobs, including an elevator operator, waiter, and a stint in the Ohio Statehouse. the pinnacle of his collegiate athletic career came on May 24, 1935, just a year before the Olympics, at the Big Ten Championships in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Owens set three World Records and tied a fourth, all in the span of 45 minutes. Jesse was suffering from a sore back and was not sure he would be able to compete, but asked his coach to allow him to run the 100 yard dash. Jesse tied the world record in that event, and went on to set three world records in the broad jump, 220 yard dash, and 220 yard low hurdles. This made him very much the favorite to win most of these events in the Olympics the following year.