Ow ‧ ens, Jes ‧ se /ˈəʊənz, ˈəʊɪnz, ˈdʒesi/ BrE AmE
(1913–80) a very successful African-American ↑ athlete , who won four ↑ gold medal s at the 1936 ↑ Olympic Games in Berlin. Hitler is said to have been very angry about this, because it disproved the Nazi idea that the ‘Aryans’ (=white people from Northern Europe) were better than people of other races. Hitler refused to attend the ceremonies at which Owens was given his gold medals.