Anne Schwarz September 17, 2015 1908 London Olympics Ray Ewry Born on October 14, 1873, in Lafayette, Indiana, Raymond Ewry defied all odds against him and went on to become one of the greatest Olympic athletes to this day. His ten Olympic gold medals are second today to only Michael Phelps, who broke Ray’s record in 2008 (Evans & Gjerde & Heijmans & Mallon, 2000). Although not much is recorded about Ewry’s life outside of his athletic career, the little information given about him suggests that he was a hardworking, honest, and heartfelt person who worked his way up from not even being about to walk to being an incredible athlete. When Ray contracted polio as a kid, he was confined to a wheelchair, his doctors fearing that he would never …show more content…
Louis, Missouri, once again earning three gold medals and later winning two more gold medals at both the intercalated games in Athens in 1906 and during the 1908 London Olympics. Jenkins describes the technique of Ray’s standing high jump from 1908: “When Ray jumped the standing high jump, he threw one leg over the bar and sprang up, pulling the second leg up and over as the first came down to earth on the opposite side. This maneuver took great speed and control as well as strength” (Jenkins, 2012). This heart and technique that Ray jumped with allowed him to be a great Olympian. Although Ray Ewry had a very successful Olympics, attaining two more gold medals in the standing long jump and the standing high jump, he was unable to repeat his three medal feat due to the discontinuation of the standing triple jump (Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, 2014). In other ways, the 1908 Olympics were a bit of a disappointment for Ray Ewry. Even though he won two gold medals, “Ray failed to beat the Olympic record that he set in Paris in 1900 and he came nowhere near the world record—which was 6 feet” (Jenkins, 2012) However, with his victories in 1908, Ray Ewry became the most decorated Olympian with ten gold medals, holding this position until …show more content…
Britannica Encyclopedia states that “In 1938, Ray Ewry was named among the first class of Olympians to be inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame” (Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, 2014). Along with being a part of the Hall of Fame, “Ray Ewry’s long jump world record of 3.47 meters was still standing in the 1930s when the event gradually sized to exist” (Games Encyclo). Ray Ewry achieved greatness in almost everything he did; however, his biggest achievement was overcoming adversity and physical hardship to show the world that truly anything is
Earl Lloyd was probably the most courageous player of all time. Some people know him as “The Big Cat” others know him as the first African-American to play in an NBA basketball game with the whites; he changed the way people think and look at basketball and black players and coaches. Earl Lloyd loved basketball from a very young age. Earl had two brothers older than him which was Earnest and Theodore. Earl was very dedicated from a very young age. With his high school team he took them to a state championship and won. After high school Earl went off and took his talents to West Virginia State College. While Earl was there his sophomore year they went 33-0 which is a perfect season. Earl’s team won back to back CIAA conference championships and tournament championships.
James Cleveland Owens otherwise known as “Jesse” was an Olympic long jumper and sprinter whose speed and inspirational defiance of Hitler shocked the world. The 1936 Olympics were held in Berlin and Adolf Hitler of the Nazi party believed that these Olympic Games would showcase the great skill of the Aryan (Caucasian) race, and the last person he would expect to show him up would be an African-American man (Barnes 1). With sixty-six U.S. Olympic contestants competing in the Games, the American race was really put on the spot in front of Hitler, the most powerful man in the world (Smith 1). Jesse Owens was one of these men, and while being laughed at by Hitler during his one hundred meter sprint against six other Caucasian sprinters, he won by a landslide. With that victory and his other three Olympic gold medals the Owens name was able to be remembered and looked up to for eternity. Jessie Owens is such a great athlete and individual because he defied Adolf Hitler, achieved more than expected of himself, and broke records with ease.
In an article titled, "This "Miracle on Ice" is considered to be the single most incredible moment in all of U.S. sports history. When coach Herb Brooks was made the team's coach, he spent a lot of time reviewing and searching for the right people for the team. Seeing as Brooks was the last man cut from the 1960 U.S. Olympic team, He wanted to do everything he could to win gold for his country. Once try outs started Brooks knew who he wanted on his team after one day. All of the players trying out were in college. The United States and Herb Brooks had picked their Olympic team after the first day of a week of try outs. After picking the team Herb had trained and prepared the team for the Olympics for over a year and a half. He had to prepare them for to face the Soviets. Brooks knew there was no matching them in speed, so he emphasized working on speed, conditioning, and discipline. Doing this my not make them as fast of the
While attending college at UCLA, Jackie became the first African American to earn a varsity letter in all four sports that he play, which were Baseball, Football, Basketball, and Track (Jackie Robinson Official). While playing basketball, Jackie led his conference, which was and still is the Pac-10 or the Pacific Coast Conference, in scoring two years in a row. In 1940 he won the NCAA Championship in the broad jump. He also became an All-American on the football field (Jackie Robi...
Raymond Gray “Ray” Lewis was a track and field athlete. He was the first African-Canadian to win a medal at the Olympics, but his life was much more than that. Born in 1910, he faced racism and prejudice for his black heritage, but that didn’t stop him from following his dream. He accomplished various things in his life, and was, and still is, a source of inspiration for many people.
“Jesse Owens.” Notable Sports Figures. Ed. Dana R. Barnes, Detroit: Gale, 2004. Biography in context.
In a book about African-Americans and Popular Culture Boyd (2008, pg.67) states that the politics of the Olympics combined with the spotlight enabled by television allowed Smith, Carlos, Muhammad Ali and countless other black athletes with a platform to give voice to those without voice. Also, to expose the pain and suffering that had long been ignored in the United States.
In the 2013 article “The Sports Gene”, the author, David Epstein discusses two high jumpers with extremely different backgrounds, training, and experiences, who competed in the World Championship. Stefan Holm was an Olympic champion who endured intense training for 20 years. On the other hand, Donald Thomas was a former college basketball star, who discovered his talent for high jumping through a bet with a friend. The central idea of the passage is that there are many pathways and means that lead to success, such as training and practice or giftedness and genetics.
As a son of a sharecropper and grandson of a slave, Jesse Owens created History in 1936 when he achieved what no athlete had done before: four Olympic Gold Medals. (jesseowens.com). During this era, the United States had limited civil rights and was approaching a World War with Hitler rising into power in Germany. Although Owens was victorious on the track, because of the color of his skin, He was looked down upon and unrecognized by even his own country. Through the excessive racism, one may ask how Owens moved forward and dealt with such negativity in a situation that should have been celebrated.
Controversy at the 1968 Olympics! At the 1968 Olympic games a track runner by the
The Entrepreneurs I've gotten was the Jodrey Family. I will first talk about Roy A. Jodrey who was the one that started it then lead to his son John J.Jodrey.
Williams, Peter. The sports immortals: deifying the American athlete. Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1994.. 30-31
Blachford later goes on to explain that “the loss of vision can be prevented if it is caught early enough” (p 484). Whether it was detected or not, it would have been impossible for Charles to receive the necessary treatment given their financial situation. By the time he was 7, Ray had to have right eye removed, where he soon after “became completely blind” according to Laura B. Tyle (p430). For the first few years of one’s life, little to no memories are retained. Considering this idea as well as the fact that Ray was blind at the age of 7, witnessing his infant brother drown was one of the very few things he ever remembered seeing. The series of hardships that come with being blind are so great in number that no average person could truly comprehend what dealing with blindness is actually like. Becoming blind completely hinders one’s ability to have an independent lifestyle. At only the very beginning of his life, Ray Charles was already facing a ceaseless period of tribulation so great that most would succumb to an unrecoverable state of
Today, with the dominance of black players in professional sports, it seems unfathomable that a mere 50 years ago, not only were black athletes absent in all mainstream sporting arenas, it was simply not an option and even illegal in some states. His legacy is the inspiration he gives to athletes and people of all color. Robinson is heroic, in part, because of the excellence of his athletic achievement and equally important, for his political commitment to racial equality.
On one of my early jumps I had flown a distance over 27 feet, but unfortunately the judge ruled that my foot had crossed the board. After winning the gold medal by half a foot with an olympic record, I stood atop the podium, and it was one of the best moments of my life. I was able to represent my country and show off my skills on an international stage. Although I was both a world record holder and a gold medalist, my world record fell only nine days after a won gold. This was the pinnacle as my career as my jumper, as I got second place in 1930 at the NCAA finals to future Olympic gold medalist Edward Gordon. Although I liked being a jumper, it was impossible to make a living as an ametur athlete, so I decided to drop out of Georgia Tech and pursue a career in business, which ultimately led me to become a manager at Coca-Cola. The games also only took place over 16 days, rather than several months as previous games had done. In addition to these changes, the German team was finally able to compete in the games for the first time since 1912 due to their participation in the first world