At the 1935 Big Ten track meet in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Jesse Owens set three world records and tied a fourth in less than an hour. The feat has been called "the greatest 45 minutes ever in sport."
Snyder buys Owens new shoes from shoemaker Adi Dassler, who would later found Adidas.
The Jesse Owens Award is USA Track and Field's highest accolade for the year's best track and field athlete.
Jesse Owens's daughters gave full support to the production. The filmmakers contacted them, gave them a script for their approval, and traveled to France to meet the screenwriters personally. Afterwards, they said the script was "heartwarming." They were frequently on set, and gave Stephan James detailed insight about what kind of man their father was.
It's a myth that Adolf Hitler snubbed Jesse Owens after his victory, but the Nazis did protest. Der Sturmer, the Nazi propaganda newspaper, ran an article by Joseph Goebbels that called for banning "üntermenschen" (subhumans) from the Olympic games. He called Americans "cheaters" for using "subhuman species, more adapted to life in the jungle," to compete, putting "evolved humans" at a disadvantage.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content
