I'd noticed him watching me for a year or so, especially when we'd play games where there was running or jumping. — Jesse Owens Copy Share Image
Joe Louis and I were the first modern national sports figures who were black... But neither of us could do national advertising… — Jesse Owens Copy Share Image
The secret is, first, get a thoroughbred horse because they are the most nervous animals on earth. Then get the biggest gun… — Jesse Owens Copy Share Image
If you don't try to win you might as well hold the Olympics in somebody's back yard. The thrill of competing carries… — Jesse Owens Copy Share Image
To a sprinter, the hundred-yard dash is over in three seconds, not nine or ten. The first 'second' is when you come… — Jesse Owens Copy Share Image
It dawned on me with blinding brightness. I realized: I had jumped into another rare kind of stratosphere - one that only… — Jesse Owens Copy Share Image
We used to have a lot of fun. We never had any problems. We always ate. The fact that we didn't have… — Jesse Owens Copy Share Image
There is something that can happen to every athlete and every human being; the instinct to slack off, to give in to… — Jesse Owens Copy Share Image
It was bad enough to have toppled from the Olympic heights to make my living competing with animals. But the competition wasn't… — Jesse Owens Copy Share Image
People say that it was degrading for an Olympic champion to run against a horse, but what was I supposed to do?… — Jesse Owens Copy Share Image
In the space of less than seven days, I attended a track meet in Boston, flew from there to Bowling Green for… — Jesse Owens Copy Share Image
People who worked with me or knew me still called me the 'world's fastest human' because I almost never stopped. I'd found… — Jesse Owens Copy Share Image
Championships are mythical. The real champions are those who live through what they are taught in their homes and churches. The attitude… — Jesse Owens Copy Share Image
I fought, I fought harder . . . but one cell at a time, panic crept into my body, taking me over. — Jesse Owens Copy Share Image
One day or another every athlete feels like taking it easy. He stops trying to exceed his limits, and thinks he can… — Jesse Owens Copy Share Image
In the end, it's extra effort that separates a winner from second place. But winning takes a lot more that that, too.… — Jesse Owens Copy Share Image
After I came home from the 1936 Olympics with my four medals, it became increasingly apparent that everyone was going to slap… — Jesse Owens Copy Share Image
The black fist is a meaningless symbol. When you open it, you have nothing but fingers - weak, empty fingers. The only… — Jesse Owens Copy Share Image
Friendships born on the field of athletic strife are the real gold of competition. Awards become corroded, friends gather no dust. — Jesse Owens Copy Share Image
“To me, we must learn to spell the word RESPECT. We must respect the rights and properties of our fellowman. And then… — Jesse Owens Copy Share Image
I realized now that militancy in the best sense of the word was the only answer where the black man was concerned,… — Jesse Owens Copy Share Image
He was constantly on me about the job that I was to do and the responsibility that I had upon the campus.… — Jesse Owens Copy Share Image
We must respect the rights and properties of our fellowman. And then learn to play the game of life, as well as… — Jesse Owens Copy Share Image
Well, I couldn't play an instrument. I'd just stand up front and announce the numbers. They had me sing a little, but… — Jesse Owens Copy Share Image
When I passed the Chancellor he arose, waved his hand at me, and I waved back at him. I think the writers showed bad… — Jesse Owens Copy Share Image
I'd noticed him watching me for a year or so, especially when we'd play games where there was running or jumping. — Jesse Owens Copy Share Image
When I came back, after all those stories about Hitler and his snub, I came back to my native country, and I could not… — Jesse Owens Copy Share Image
Joe Louis and I were the first modern national sports figures who were black... But neither of us could do national advertising because the… — Jesse Owens Copy Share Image
The secret is, first, get a thoroughbred horse because they are the most nervous animals on earth. Then get the biggest gun you can… — Jesse Owens Copy Share Image
It all goes so fast, and character makes the difference when it's close — Jesse Owens Copy Share Image
If you don't try to win you might as well hold the Olympics in somebody's back yard. The thrill of competing carries with it… — Jesse Owens Copy Share Image
To a sprinter, the hundred-yard dash is over in three seconds, not nine or ten. The first 'second' is when you come out of… — Jesse Owens Copy Share Image
It dawned on me with blinding brightness. I realized: I had jumped into another rare kind of stratosphere - one that only a handful… — Jesse Owens Copy Share Image
I always loved running... it was something you could do by yourself, and under your own power. You could go in any direction, fast… — Jesse Owens Copy Share Image
