Jesse Owens

The battles that count aren’t the ones for gold medals. The struggles within yourself – the invisible, inevitable battles inside all of us – that’s where it’s at.

Jesse Owens

We all have dreams. In order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline and effort.

Jesse Owens

Find the good. It’s all around you. Find it, showcase it and you’ll start believing it.

Jesse Owens

It all goes so fast, and character makes the difference when it’s close.

Jesse Owens

One chance is all you need.

Jesse Owens

A lifetime of training for just ten seconds.

Jesse Owens

Awards become corroded, friends gather no dust.

Jesse Owens

I always loved running – it was something you could do by yourself and under your own power. You could go in any direction, fast or slow as you wanted, fighting the wind if you felt like it, seeking out new sights just on the strength of your feet and the courage of your lungs.

Jesse Owens

I wanted no part of politics. And I wasn’t in Berlin to compete against any one athlete. The purpose of the olympics, anyway, was to do your best. As I’d learned long ago from Charles Riley, the only victory that counts is the one over yourself.

Jesse Owens

If you don’t try to win you might as well hold the olympics in somebody’s back yard. The thrill of competing carries with it the thrill of a gold medal. One wants to win to prove himself the best.

Jesse Owens