Archives of the Mayor's Press Office

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: Thursday, February 11, 1999

Release #051-99

Contact: Colleen Roche/Curt Ritter (212) 788-2958


MAYOR GIULIANI WELCOMES RUTH OWENS TO CITY HALL

Presents Mayor With Signed Photo Of Jesse Owens

Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani today welcomed Ruth Owens, widow of Olympic great Jesse Owens, to City Hall. Mrs. Owens was last invited to City Hall in 1936 by Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia after her husband stunned the world by winning four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Summer Olympics. Mrs. Owens, who is in town for the 19th Annual Jesse Owens Awards dinner, presented Mayor Giuliani with a signed photo of Mr. Owens at the 1936 Berlin Summer Olympics.

"It is an honor to welcome Mrs. Jesse Owens back to City Hall to honor the legacy of her husband's ground-breaking achievements," said Mayor Giuliani. "Mayor LaGuardia invited the victorious Jesse and Ruth Owens to City Hall so all New Yorkers could join in celebrating his stunning victories during the Summer of 1936, when he left the Berlin Olympics with four gold medals.

"It was at these Olympics, in Hitler's Germany, that Jesse first captured the hearts and minds of people in America, and throughout the world," the Mayor continued. "In what was considered by many to be one of the most epic moments in Olympic history, Jesse won four gold medals in an Olympics that was supposed demonstrate Aryan supremacy. Instead, his success turned the Olympics into a significant milestone in the struggle for freedom and equality. His achievements and dignity brought shame upon the Nazis and secured him a place in history as one of the greatest athletes of the 20th Century. I would like to thank Mrs. Owens for this wonderful photograph from her last visit to City Hall, and hope that this visit will be just as memorable."

After Jesse's death 19 years ago, Herbert P. Douglas, Jr., a personal friend, created the Jesse Owens International Trophy Award to keep his memory alive as a hero and a role model for African Americans and for all the people of our nation. The 19th Annual Jesse Owens International Awards dinner, scheduled to be held this evening at the Waldorf-Astoria, will honor U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan and Marion Jones, the sprinting queen of the world, who holds the world record in the women's 100 and 200-meters second only to the late Florence Griffith Joyner.

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