30 Jesse Owens Quotes From The Olympic Legend

Check out the most famous Jesse Owens quotes that will motivate you to overcome every obstacle and inspire you to work hard to achieve your dreams.

Jesse Owens was an African American track and field athlete who became one of the most celebrated figures in sports history.

Born on September 12, 1913, in Oakville, Alabama, U.S., Owens grew up in a time of racial discrimination and Nazi propaganda. Despite these challenges, he overcame adversity and became a symbol of resilience, discipline, and triumph.

His remarkable achievements include his performance at the 1935 Big Ten track meet in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he set three world records and tied another in less than an hour. This record has never been equaled and has been called “the greatest 45 minutes ever in sport”.

However, he gained international fame at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by winning four gold medals in the 100-meter, 200 meters, long jump, and 4×100 meter relay.

His success in Berlin not only showcased his incredible athletic talent but also challenged the Adolf Hitler’s propaganda of Aryan supremacy.

Jesse Owens legacy extends far beyond his athletic achievements. He became a trailblazer for civil rights, inspiring countless individuals with his perseverance, determination, and dedication.

His life was brought to the big screen in the 2016 biographical sports drama film Race. The movie was a commercial success and serves as a reminder of the enduring legacy of one of the greatest athletes in history.

Here are the best Jesse Owens quotes on life, success, and racism that will give you the much needed motivation to reach your full potential and achieve greatness.

Top 10 Jesse Owens Quotes

1. “One chance is all you need.” — Jesse Owens     

   
2. “A lifetime of training for just ten seconds.” — Jesse Owens    

   

3. “Life doesn’t give you all the practice races you need.” — Jesse Owens  

   

4. “The only victory that counts is the one over yourself.” — Jesse Owens 

   

5. “It all goes so fast, and character makes the difference when it’s close.” — Jesse Owens       

   

6. “For a time, at least, I was the most famous person in the entire world.” — Jesse Owens
7. “The only bond worth anything between human beings is their humanness.” — Jesse Owens 

   

8. “Find the good. It’s all around you. Find it, showcase it and you’ll start believing in it.” — Jesse Owens

   

9. “We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort.” — Jesse Owens
10. “The battles that count aren’t the ones for gold medals. The struggles within yourself – the invisible, inevitable battles inside all of us – that’s where it’s at.” — Jesse Owens

Best Jesse Owens Quotes From The Olympic Legend

1. “If you don’t try to win you might as well hold the Olympics in somebody’s back yard.” — Jesse Owens
2. “People come out to see you perform and you’ve got to give them the best you have within you.” — Jesse Owens
3. “I decided I wasn’t going to come down. I was going to fly. I was going to stay up in the air forever.” — Jesse Owens
4. “The thrill of competing carries with it the thrill of a gold medal. One wants to win to prove himself the best.” — Jesse Owens
5. “I let my feet spend as little time on the ground as possible. From the air, fast down, and from the ground, fast up.” — Jesse Owens
6. “Running is real. It’s all joy and woe, hard as diamond. It makes you weary beyond comprehension, but it also makes you free.” — Jesse Owens
7. “Friendships born on the field of athletic strife are the real gold of competition. Awards become corroded, friends gather no dust.” — Jesse Owens
8. “The 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 Owens
9. “It was bad enough to have toppled from the Olympic heights to make my living competing with animals. But the competition wasn’t even fair. No man could beat a race horse, not even for 100 yards.” — Jesse Owens
10. “After 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 Owens
11. “I wanted no part of politics. And I wasn’t in Berlin to compete against any one athlete. The purpose of the Olympics, anyway, was to do your best. As I’d learned long ago from Charles Riley, the only victory that counts is the one over yourself.” — Jesse Owens
12. “People say that it was degrading for an Olympic champion to run against a horse, but what was I supposed to do? I had four gold medals, but you can’t eat four gold medals. There was no television, no big advertising, no endorsements then. Not for a black man, anyway.” — Jesse Owens

Famous Quotes From Jesse Owens Quotes

1. “In America anyone can still become someone.” — Jesse Owens
2. “Only by God’s grace have I made it to see today and only by God’s grace will I ever see tomorrow.” — Jesse Owens
3. “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
4. “We 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 Owens
5. “Although I wasn’t invited to shake hands with Hitler, I wasn’t invited to the White House to shake hands with the President either.” — Jesse Owens
6. “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 Owens
7. “I always loved running…it was something you could do by yourself, and under your own power. You could go in any direction, fast or slow as you wanted, fighting the wind if you felt like it, seeking out new sights just on the strength of your feet and the courage of your lungs.” — Jesse Owens
8. “To me, we must learn to spell the word RESPECT. We must respect the rights and properties of our fellowman. And then learn to play the game of life, as well as the game of athletics, according to the rules of society. If you can take that and put it into practice in the community in which you live, then, to me you have won the greatest championship.” — Jesse Owens
9. “In the end, it’s extra effort that separates a winner from second place. But winning takes a lot more that that, too. It starts with complete command of the fundamentals. Then it takes desire, determination, discipline, and self-sacrifice. And finally, it takes a great deal of love, fairness and respect for your fellow man. Put all these together, and even if you don’t win, how can you lose?” — Jesse Owens
10. “Championships are mythical. The real champions are those who live through what they are taught in their homes and churches. The attitude that ‘We’ve got to win’ in sports must be changed. Teach your youngsters, who are the future hope of America, the importance of love, respect, dedication, determination, self-sacrifice, self-discipline and good attitude. That’s the road up the ladder to the championships.” — Jesse Owens

Conclusion

What are your favorite Jesse Owens quotes and sayings (with images and wallpapers) that has inspired you the most? If there is a quote that we’ve missed then let us know in the comments section what your thoughts are.

If you want to know more about Jesse Owens then please check out his Biography – Jesse Owens Biography

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