Q 01/05

In which city did Jesse Owens win his Olympic gold medals in 1936?

A) Los Angeles

B) Munich

C) Amsterdam

D) Berlin

Answer · why

D) Berlin

The host nation still topped the medal table with 101 medals, but Owens was the most successful individual athlete of the Games.

Q 02/05

How many gold medals did Jesse Owens win at the 1936 Games?

A) Five

B) Three

C) Four

D) Two

Answer · why

C) Four

He set an Olympic record in every individual event he entered, and a world record in the relay.

Q 03/05

In which US state was Jesse Owens born?

A) Alabama

B) Mississippi

C) Tennessee

D) Georgia

Answer · why

A) Alabama

His birthplace, the tiny community of Oakville, opened a memorial park and museum in his honour in 1996.

Q 04/05

When Owens was nine, his family joined the Great Migration north and settled in which city?

A) Gary, Indiana

B) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

C) Detroit, Michigan

D) Cleveland, Ohio

Answer · why

D) Cleveland, Ohio

His father and older brother found work in a steel mill, while young Jesse delivered groceries and worked in a shoe repair shop.

Q 05/05

How did the boy known as J. C. end up being called 'Jesse'?

A) He was named after a preacher

B) He chose it for a school play

C) A teacher misheard his initials

D) His coach gave him the nickname

Answer · why

C) A teacher misheard his initials

His thick Southern accent did the trick on his first day at a new school in the North, and the name stuck for life.

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