Spotlight: The Greatest 45 Minutes in Sports

The time period from 3:15 to 4:00 p.m. on May 25, 1935 has come to be recognized as the “greatest 45 minutes in sports.” At the Big Ten Track and Field Championships in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Ohio State athlete Jesse Owens accomplished a feat that has never been equaled; in less than an hour, he set three world records and tied another one. Five days earlier, Owens had severely bruised his lower back in a fall.  Ohio State coach Larry Snyder was hesitant to allow Owens to compete due to the injury, but ultimately determined that Owens could begin and they would assess his condition on an event-by-event basis. That decision proved to be a wise one. First up at 3:15 p.m. was the 100-yard dash. Owens crossed the finish line in 9.4 seconds, tying the world record. He later explained that while his back injury prevented him from warming up, once he settled into his stance at the start of the 100-yard dash, the back pain disappeared, “as if by miracle,” and he was able to compete pain free the remainder of the day. Next up, at 3:25 p.m., Owens reported for the long jump. Based on scheduling, Owens knew he would have only one attempt, but one attempt was all he needed. Owens jumped 8.13 meters (26 feet, 8.25 inches), smashing the previous world record by 15 centimeters, becoming the first man to break the 8-meter mark, and setting a world record that would stand for 25 years. At 3:34 p.m., Owens was at the starting line for the 220-yard dash, which he completed in 20.3 seconds, surpassing the world record by three-tenths of a second. Finally, at 4:00 p.m. came the 220-yard low hurdles. Owens finished in 22.6 seconds, becoming the first man to break 23 seconds in the event and setting a new world record.

Owens went on to win four individual NCAA championships – in the 100-yard dash, the long jump, the 220 yard-dash, and the 220-yard low hurdles - during the 1935 NCAA Championships in June 1935 in Berkeley, California. He defended his titles in all four events during the 1936 NCAA Championships at Stag Field in Chicago, bringing his career total to eight individual NCAA championships in just two years of varsity competition. Owens’ dominating collegiate career propelled him to the 1936 U.S. Olympic Trials, held in New York City on July 11^th and 12^th, where he won three events and qualified for the U.S. team for the Berlin Olympics, set August 1-16, 1936.   

Owens made an unforgettable impact at the Olympic Games in Berlin, winning four gold medals. The Berlin Olympics were fraught with controversy. Berlin had been designated as the host city in 1931, before the Nazi party gained control of Germany in January 1933. Adolph Hilter viewed the Berlin Games as an opportunity to showcase German prowess and promote Nazi policies. In the months leading up to the 1936 Games, there had been a movement in several countries, including the U.S., to boycott the Olympics in light of Nazi human rights violations. The movement was ultimately unsuccessful, with 49 countries participating in the Berlin Games, up from 37 countries that participated in the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics. 

Jesse Owens’ gold medal performances in the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash, long jump, and 4×100-meter relay were remarkable. He set Olympic records in all four events and world records in three. In doing so, Owens became the most decorated athlete at the 1936 Games. His success brought Owens international fame and stood in stark contrast to Hitler’s Aryan superiority theory. 

In the late 1940s, Owens moved his family to Chicago, where he worked in public relations and devoted time to working with underprivileged youth. Owens died in 1980. He is buried in Oak Woods Cemetery on the south side of Chicago, which also serves as the final resting place for civil rights leaders Jesse Jackson and Ida B. Wells and Nobel Prize winning physicist Enrico Fermi, “the architect of the nuclear age.” The inscription on Owens’ tombstone sums up his incredible life as follows: JESSE OWENS, OLYMPIC CHAMPION, 1936. Athlete and Humanitarian. A master of the spirit as well as the mechanics of sports. A winner who knew that winning was not everything. He showed extraordinary love for his family and friends. His achievements have shown us all the promise of America. His faith in America inspired countless others to do their best for themselves and their country.