FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Release #046-00
Wednesday, February 9, 2000

MAYOR GIULIANI WELCOMES STUART RANKIN,
GRANDSON OF JESSE OWENS, TO CITY HALL

"Sixty-four years ago, Jesse Owens traveled through the Canyon of Heroes and was honored at a City Hall ceremony presided over by Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia," Mayor Giuliani said. "His triumph in Germany, in front of Adolf Hitler himself, has inspired generations of African-American athletes who have had to overcome discrimination, both overt and disguised, in order to pursue their dreams."

Stuart Rankin is in New York City for the 20th Annual Jesse Owens Awards Dinner. Last year, Ruth Owens visited City Hall for the first time since her late husband and his teammates were honored in a ticker-tape parade through Lower Manhattan. The parade celebrated Jesse Owens' performance in the 1936 Berlin Olympics where he had won four gold medals. Today, Stuart Rankin showed a short film made during the ticker-tape parade and the following ceremony.

The Jesse Owens International Trophy is presented annually to the world's best amateur athlete. Tomorrow's 20th annual award dinner will honor Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong.

After Jesse's death 20 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.

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