Seriously though, Jesse Owens is the man!
Who Is the Most Iconic Olympian of All Time?
GMR
2012/06/29 22:31:20
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155 votes
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10% | |||
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580 votes
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39% | |||
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14 votes
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1% | |||
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22 votes
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1% | |||
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17 votes
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1% | |||
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9 votes
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1% | |||
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253 votes
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17% | |||
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233 votes
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16% | |||
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213 votes
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14% | |||
The London 2012 Summer Olympics are right around the corner, and soon most of the planet will be caught up in the breath-taking athleticism of the world's very best. Though the Olympics are technically a sporting event, they transcend traditional entertainment to become a spectacle of human endurance, willpower, skill, strength... It would take us a while just to cover the basics, so we'll leave it there.
In honor of the London 2012 Olympics, we're running a survey on some of the greatest moments in recent Olympics history, the greatest Olympics-themed movies, and a few other related topics. Make sure to check out our 8-Question Quick Poll and see what other people think!
In honor of the London 2012 Olympics, we're running a survey on some of the greatest moments in recent Olympics history, the greatest Olympics-themed movies, and a few other related topics. Make sure to check out our 8-Question Quick Poll and see what other people think!
Top Opinion
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Joker~RWAC/CFM-THE REAL POTL 2012/07/01 00:20:04Jesse Owens
+11How in the hell is Mark Spitz not mentioned! I mean...look at that mustache!
Seriously though, Jesse Owens is the man!
Check out the statue...
My condolences to folk if your grandparents were in central or eastern Europe and got "hell" from the Nazis. But my gramps was American, as well as his dad, and his dad. My great x 3 was another mans property, right here in the USA. I know you get the point Brah. I'm just saying to the jive turkey suckas.
Anyway the two brothers were protesting the world wide oppression of black folks not just in this country. Agreed they were very much trouble makers and were not under the control of the powers that be. That is the very thing that makes them iconic.
Although Jesse was cut from a diffrent cloth, he is very much a source of pride for me as well
Dawn Fraser
Ian Thorpe
Or Cathy Freeman
Describing Jim Thorpe as a great athlete would be doing him a severe injustice. A better description would be calling him the greatest athlete of the 20th Century. This label will probably be debated by many, but Thorpe's accomplishments speak louder than words. King Gustav V of Sweden told Thorpe: "Sir, you are the greatest athlete in the world."
James Francis Thorpe was born on May 28, 1887 in a one-room cabin near Prague, Oklahoma. Although there is much confusion on Thorpe's date of birth, this is the date according to his estate. He was born to Hiram Thorpe, a farmer, and Mary James, a Pottawatomie Indian and descendant of the last great Sauk and Fox chief Black Hawk, a noted warrior and athlete. Jim was actually born a twin, but his brother Charlie died at the age of nine. His Indian name, Wa-Tho-Huk, translated to "Bright Path", something that Thorpe definitely had ahead of him.
In 1904, Thorpe started school at Carlisle Industrial Indian School in Pennsylvania. The establishment offered American Indians the opportunity to gain practical training in over 20 trades, in addition to off-campus employment at local farms, homes or industries. Thorpe began his athletic career at Carlisle, both playing football and running track. He was triumphantly selected as a third-team...
Describing Jim Thorpe as a great athlete would be doing him a severe injustice. A better description would be calling him the greatest athlete of the 20th Century. This label will probably be debated by many, but Thorpe's accomplishments speak louder than words. King Gustav V of Sweden told Thorpe: "Sir, you are the greatest athlete in the world."
James Francis Thorpe was born on May 28, 1887 in a one-room cabin near Prague, Oklahoma. Although there is much confusion on Thorpe's date of birth, this is the date according to his estate. He was born to Hiram Thorpe, a farmer, and Mary James, a Pottawatomie Indian and descendant of the last great Sauk and Fox chief Black Hawk, a noted warrior and athlete. Jim was actually born a twin, but his brother Charlie died at the age of nine. His Indian name, Wa-Tho-Huk, translated to "Bright Path", something that Thorpe definitely had ahead of him.
In 1904, Thorpe started school at Carlisle Industrial Indian School in Pennsylvania. The establishment offered American Indians the opportunity to gain practical training in over 20 trades, in addition to off-campus employment at local farms, homes or industries. Thorpe began his athletic career at Carlisle, both playing football and running track. He was triumphantly selected as a third-team All-American in 1908, and in 1909 and 1910 he made the first team. Iconic football legend Glenn "Pop" Warner coached Thorpe at Carlisle and was able to see the young phenomenon evolve in his pursuant excellence with athletics.
At the tender age of 24, Thorpe sailed with the American Olympic team to Stockholm, Sweden for the 1912 Olympic Games. Remarkably, he trained aboard the ship on the journey across sea. He blew away the competition in both the pentathlon and the decathlon and set records that would stand for decades. King Gustav V presented Thorpe with his gold medals for both accomplishments. As stated in Bob Berontas' "Jim Thorpe, Sac and Fox Athlete": "Before Thorpe could walk away, the king grabbed his hand and uttered the sentence that was to follow for the rest of his life.’Sir,' he declared, 'you are the greatest athlete in the world,' Thorpe, never a man to stand on ceremony, answered simple and honestly, 'Thanks King.'"