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Jacksonville, Florida, USA - One of the most legendary athletes in history, Jesse Owens, who famously won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games, has been posthumously awarded the IAAF Golden Order of Merit.

Using the opportunity of his recent visit to the USATF Annual Meeting in Jacksonville, Florida, IAAF President Lamine Diack presented the award to a representative of the Jesse Owens Foundation on Thursday evening and said:

Impressed me most about Jesse

“I was very fortunate to have had the opportunity on two occasions in the early 1970s to spend time with Jesse Owens. What impressed me most about Jesse, was not just his wonderful World records in Ann Arbor or his four gold medals in Berlin, but all the challenges he faced up to as a man.”

“Jesse was never given a scholarship and had to work while pursuing athletics, he faced racial prejudice, and he was forced to drop out of amateur sport soon after his Olympic triumph and had to resort to racing horses to make a living.” ...