Ohio State and Olympic Great Jesse Owens to be Honored Prior to NCAA Regional Championship Meet – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/29/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
May 29, 2003
Columbus, Ohio – The running of the 2003 Mideast Regional Track and Field Championships at Ohio State Friday and Saturday not only serves as a landmark occasion as the NCAA’s first annual regional event, but also provides the opportunity to honor a legend of the sport in Olympic and Ohio State great Jesse Owens. Prior to Saturday’s events at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium the Ohio Bicentennial Commission will recognize the stadium’s namesake at 9 a.m. with a plaque dedication honoring great people and places of Ohio sports history. The Ohio State University will be represented at the ceremony by athletics director Andy Geiger and track and field head coach Russ Rogers.
Owens, a native of Cleveland, Ohio, who claimed four Gold Medals at the 1936 Olympic Games, is one of 11 Ohio sports history markers set to be honored over the next two months. Other historical figures and venues include professional golfer Jack Kidwell, former Ohio State head coach Paul Brown, who also coached the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League, Major League Baseball’s all-time winningest pitcher Cy Young, Moses Fleetwood Walker, the first African American to play professional Baseball and Ohio State coaching legend Woody Hayes.
Among the venues being highlighted are the Cleveland Grand Prix, the Bayview Golf Course, site of the “Fight of the Century” between professional heavyweight boxing champion Jack Dempsey and Jess Willard, Akron’s Soapbox Derby and professional baseball franchise the Cincinnati Reds.
The Owens ceremony will kick off the events for the second day of the regional championships, which begin Friday at noon with the men’s hammer throw and women’s javelin.
###Go Bucks###
