Jesse Owens Award
Encyclopedia
The Jesse Owens Award is an annual track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
award that is the highest accolade given out by USA Track and Field
USA Track and Field
USA Track & Field is the United States national governing body for the sports of track and field, cross country running, road running and racewalking...
(USATF). As the country's highest award for the sport, it bears Jesse Owens
Jesse Owens
James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens was an American track and field athlete who specialized in the sprints and the long jump. He participated in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany, where he achieved international fame by winning four gold medals: one each in the 100 meters, the 200 meters, the...
' name in recognition of his significant career, which included four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games
1936 Summer Olympics
The 1936 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was held in 1936 in Berlin, Germany. Berlin won the bid to host the Games over Barcelona, Spain on April 26, 1931, at the 29th IOC Session in Barcelona...
. First awarded in 1981 to hurdler Edwin Moses
Edwin Moses
Edwin Corley Moses is an American track and field athlete who won gold medals in the 400 metre hurdles at the 1976 and 1984 Olympics. Between 1977 and 1987, Moses won 107 consecutive finals and set the world record in his event four times...
, it was created to recognize the season's top American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
performer in track and field competitions. In 1996, the award was divided into two categories, with both a male and female winner. The 1996 winners, Michael Johnson
Michael Johnson (athlete)
Michael Duane Johnson is a retired American sprinter. He won four Olympic gold medals and eight world championship gold medals. Johnson currently holds the world and Olympic records in the 400 m and 4 x 400 meters relay. He formerly held the world and Olympic record in the 200 m, and the world...
and Gail Devers
Gail Devers
Yolanda Gail Devers is a retired three-time Olympic champion in track and field for the US Olympic Team. Devers was born in Seattle, Washington, and grew up near National City, California and graduated from Sweetwater High School in 1984...
, each won two gold medals at that year's Olympics in Atlanta
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....
. Up to 2008, the award was voted on by members of the United States athletics media only, but in 2009 fans were able to vote via the USA Track and Field website, with their opinions contributing 10% of the overall result.
The winners of the award are typically announced in late November or early December after the end of the outdoor track and field season. A number of athletes have received the award on more than one occasion: Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Jacqueline "Jackie" Joyner-Kersee is a retired American athlete, ranked among the all-time greatest athletes in the women's heptathlon as well as in the women's long jump. She won three gold, one silver, and two bronze Olympic medals, in those four different events...
was the first to do so with back-to-back wins in 1986 and 1987, while Carl Lewis
Carl Lewis
Frederick Carlton "Carl" Lewis is an American former track and field athlete, who won 10 Olympic medals including 9 gold, and 10 World Championships medals, of which 8 were gold. His career spanned from 1979 when he first achieved a world ranking to 1996 when he last won an Olympic title and...
won his second award in 1991. Michael Johnson
Michael Johnson (athlete)
Michael Duane Johnson is a retired American sprinter. He won four Olympic gold medals and eight world championship gold medals. Johnson currently holds the world and Olympic records in the 400 m and 4 x 400 meters relay. He formerly held the world and Olympic record in the 200 m, and the world...
was the first to receive the award three times (winning consecutively from 1994–1996) and Marion Jones
Marion Jones
Marion Lois Jones , also known as Marion Jones-Thompson, is a former world champion track and field athlete, and a former professional basketball player for Tulsa Shock in the WNBA...
became the first woman to collect three awards after wins in 1997, 1998 and 2002. The most recent winners are David Oliver and Allyson Felix
Allyson Felix
Allyson Felix is a track and field sprint athlete, who competes internationally for the United States, primarily in the 200 meters. She also competes at the 100 meters and the 400 meters distances...
. Winners receive a replica of the award while the original remains on permanent display at the USATF Headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
.
List of recipients
| Year | Male winner | Female winner | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | — | ||
| 1982 | — | ||
| 1983 | — | ||
| 1984 | — | ||
| 1985 | — | ||
| 1986 | — | ||
| 1987 | — | ||
| 1988 | — | ||
| 1989 | — | ||
| 1990 | — | ||
| 1991 | — | ||
| 1992 | — | ||
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