I decided I wasn't going to come down. I was going to fly. — Jesse Owens · Smartyfair

I decided I wasn't going to come down. I was going to fly.

Jesse Owens1913–1980 · athlete · 1900s USAJesse Owens was an American track and field athlete who won four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, an extraordinary achievement made even more powerful because it directly challenged Nazi Germany's racist ideology at the time.2 quotes

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In plain words

He didn't just jump. He decided to fly.

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Where these words come from

How sure this is: 55% sureLots of sources credit Jesse Owens with this, and they agree with each other. The book or the speech it first came from hasn't turned up yet.
What turned up: From Tony Gentry's 1990 children's biography Jesse Owens, Champion Athlete; no citation to a primary interview is given, so held at likely per the posthumous-compilation caution.
Work: Jesse Owens, Champion Athlete (Tony Gentry biography, 1990)
Occasion: 1936 · Berlin Olympics long jump pit · describing his record-breaking final jump
Sources checked: en.wikiquote.orgChecked using claude-sonnet-5, 21 August 2026Cites Jesse Owens, Champion Athlete by Tony Gentry (1990), on his record-breaking long jump

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