Jesse Owens: Winning Over Oneself

This article is from a 1996 address by SGI President Daisaku Ikeda to students of the Soka schools in Japan.

Jesse Owens (1913-1980) was born in the same year and state--Alabama--as Rosa Parks. He was the son of a poor cotton farm laborer. Seven decades ago, in 1936, he became the proud winner of four gold medals at the 11th Olympic Games, which were held in Berlin during Hitler's chancellorship. It was a brilliant achievement that shines in Olympic history. News of his accomplishment spread throughout the world. An African-American youth from humble beginnings became an international hero. He was just 22 at the time.

When the Olympics were held, Hitler was secretly honing his master plan for war, and had already begun oppressing Jews and other minorities. He passed one reprehensible law after another, each depriving Jews of their basic human rights.

Hitler tried to exploit the Olympics to the hilt as a means to conceal the brutal nature of his regime and promote a false and rosy picture of his Germany. Many, in fact, were deceived by the Nazis' manipulation of information and convinced that Hitler's regime was not as evil as purported.

At the Berlin Olympics, Hitler hoped to prove his racial theories, specifically the superiority of the "Aryan" race, to all the world. But one young man dealt a blow to Hitler's arrogance. That was the young African-American athlete Jesse Owens.

During the games, Hitler cheered and applauded white athletes, but refused to even watch Black athletes compete. Newspapers in the United States reported this insult with headlines such as: "Hitler Greets All Medalists Except Americans, Leaving Before They Are Honored" and "Hitler Ignores Negro Medalists." Hitler also apparently exploded when it was suggested that he be photographed with Jesse Owens, taking this as an outrageous insult.

On the reverse side of such arrogance lies cowardice--a lack of courage to see the truth. Likewise, discrimination and envy are also two sides of the same coin.

But the young Jesse Owens's mind was not on Hitler. In an account of how he felt during his gold-medal-winning 100-meter dash, he writes: "I saw the finish line, and knew that 10 seconds would climax the work of eight years. One mistake could ruin those eight years. So, why worry about Hitler?"

When you devote your life to achieving a goal, you will not be bothered by shallow criticism. In fact, nothing important can be accomplished if you allow yourself to be swayed by some trifling matter, always looking over your shoulder and wondering what others are saying or thinking. To move steadily forward along your chosen path with determination--this is the key to achievement.


The Foundation of Success

Jesse Owens trained for eight years prior to the Berlin Olympics, determined to become the fastest human alive. He knew that the most important thing was to win over himself. He realized that having found his path, he should pursue it with courage and conviction. It was his junior high school coach who had taught him that very important lesson.

A particular race stood out in his mind. The race was a very close one. Jesse passed his opponents and fell back, took the lead and fell back again. And so it continued. But throughout the race Jesse did his very best, squeezing out every last drop of his power and energy. He did not win the race but, even after he sped past the finish line, he kept on running. He ran on with such power that he finally crashed into the schoolyard wall.

Immediately after this disappointing loss, Owens's coach ran up to him. "Congratulations!" he exclaimed. Jesse didn't expect to hear those words. He looked at his coach with a puzzled expression. His coach continued, "You won today. And you know who you beat?" Though it remained unspoken, Jesse knew the answer: himself. "You didn't beat him once, either, you beat him a hundred times out there."Previously, Jesse would give up on the race once he had fallen behind. But that day he ran with all of his strength, continuing to challenge himself right to the very end. His coach did not fail to notice Jesse's growth.

Jesse's coach continued to encourage him: "Tomorrow's a new day, and because you beat your opponent today doesn't mean that you'll beat him tomorrow. And next week is a new week. Same thing. And next year. But . . . if you do beat him again tomorrow, and again next week, and again next year, and you keep on winning over him, you'll go to the Olympics someday!"

It is foolish to be obsessed with past failures. And it's just as foolish to be self-satisfied with one's small achievements. It is the present and the future that are important. A person who neglects this spirit of continual striving will start to veer off in a ruinous direction.

The sincere encouragement of his coach became the foundation upon which Jesse Owens built his later Olympic success. He became a great runner by winning over himself day after day and year after year. As a result of years of daily practice and challenge, he found himself at the starting line of the 100-meter dash at the Berlin Olympics.


A Victorious Life

"On your marks!" "Get set!" A hush fell over the huge arena. Then, the shot of the starting gun rang out. Jesse Owens was off in a flash. He sped down the track passing all of his formidable competitors and crossed the finish line in one great spurt. He equaled the world record of 10.3 seconds. Furthermore, he set a new Olympic record of 20.7 seconds in the 200 meters and yet another Olympic record of 8.06 meters in the long jump. This last event, incidentally, was an especially close contest between Owens and the German athlete Richard Long. That encounter turned out to be the beginning of a lasting friendship between the two.

Finally, together with other members of his team, Jesse Owens helped set a new world record of 39.8 seconds in the 400-meter relay. No athlete had previously won four gold medals in a single Olympic Games. Neither nationality nor skin color seemed to matter as the spectators who filled the stadium enthusiastically applauded the world's greatest runner.

Owens responded modestly to the cheers and applause rained upon him--another sign of his true greatness as a human being. Hitler's resentment and rage at the outcome could do nothing to diminish this magnificent victory, this powerful emotional drama. He was powerless to undermine it. The strong and beautiful heart of an unassuming youth had crushed the dictator's ugly ambition. Even today, Jesse Owens's name is synonymous with the Berlin Olympics.

The true Olympics, Owens later remarked, is life, one's own inner life. Life itself is an Olympics where we strive each day to better our own personal records. First, one has to be strong. There is no way of winning in this chaotic world if you give in to your weakness. No matter what others may say or do, you should muster your abilities and put these to use. We must each find our own way, blaze our own trail and walk it courageously. In this way we can adorn our lives with lasting victory.