Four months after winning an unprecedented four gold medals at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Jesse Owens found himself in Havana, Cuba, for a race that promoters were calling the "Race of the Century." This time, though, the heroic 23-year-old American sprinter was lined up against a horse as halftime entertainment at a Cuban soccer match. Owens was given a 40-yard (37 m) head start in the 100-yard (91 m) sprint, and when the gun went off to start the race, Julio McCaw hesitated before galloping toward the finishing line. Owens exploded from the blocks and ran a 9.9-second race, edging out his hard-charging, four-legged challenger.
A talented athlete, down on his luck:
anon998787
Post 2 |
The race with the horse doesn't account for anything. When you give the man a 40 yard advantage it's an admission that the horse is going to win and no amount of line moving is going to change that. Stupid gimmick. It's too bad that today's endorsement possibilities didn't exist yet, but his name will be forever cemented in history. |
dimchild
Post 1 |
sigh.. |