How a hurt Jesse Owens dominated the 1935 Big Ten Championships and rewrote track history in one day

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The 1935 Jesse Owens’ Greatest Day in Sports

On May 25, 1935, Jesse Owens stepped onto Ferry Field at the University of Michigan for the Big Ten Championships. The 21-year-old Ohio State sophomore had no idea he was about to make history.

In just 45 minutes, he set three world records and tied a fourth. Known as the “Buckeye Bullet,” Owens competed under coach Larry Snyder at one of the biggest college track meets in the Midwest. What happened that day has never been matched in sports.

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The Staircase Fall That Nearly Ended Everything

Five days before the championships, Owens fell down the stairs at his Ohio State dorm. He was fooling around with his fraternity brothers when the accident happened…

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