When I came back, after all those stories about Hitler and his snub, I came back to my native country, and I could not ride in the front of the bus. I had to go to the back door. I couldn’t live where I wanted. Now what’s the difference?
JESSE OWENSWhen I came back, after all those stories about Hitler and his snub, I came back to my native country, and I could not ride in the front of the bus. I had to go to the back door. I couldn’t live where I wanted. Now what’s the difference?
JESSE OWENSA lifetime of training for just ten seconds.
JESSE OWENSI had four gold medals, but you can’t eat four gold medals.
JESSE OWENSI let my feet spend as little time on the ground as possible. From the air, fast down, and from the ground, fast up.
JESSE OWENSFor a time, at least, I was the most famous person in the entire world.
JESSE OWENSAfter I came home from the 1936 Olympics with my four medals, it became increasingly apparent that everyone was going to slap me on the back, want to shake my hand or have me up to their suite. But no one was going to offer me a job.
JESSE OWENSIf you don’t try to win you might as well hold the Olympics in somebody’s back yard.
JESSE OWENSIt dawned on me with blinding brightness. I realized: I had jumped into another rare kind of stratosphere – one that only a handful of people in every generation are lucky enough to know.
JESSE OWENSLife doesn’t give you all the practice races you need.
JESSE OWENSWhen I passed the Chancellor he arose, waved his hand at me, and I waved back at him. I think the writers showed bad taste in criticizing the man of the hour in Germany.
JESSE OWENSI always loved running. It was something you could do by yourself and under your own power.
JESSE OWENSWe used to have a lot of fun. We never had any problems. We always ate. The fact that we didn’t have steak? Who had steak?
JESSE OWENSThe road to the Olympics, leads to no city, no country. It goes far beyond New York or Moscow, ancient Greece or Nazi Germany. The road to the Olympics leads — in the end — to the best within us.
JESSE OWENSOnly by Gods grace have I made it to see today and only by Gods grace will I ever see tomorrow.
JESSE OWENSThe secret is, first, get a thoroughbred horse because they are the most nervous animals on earth. Then get the biggest gun you can find and make sure the starter fires that big gun right by the nervous thoroughbred’s ear.
JESSE OWENSThe only victory that counts is the one over yourself.
JESSE OWENS