Jesse Owens plaque to be unveiled at University of Michigan's Ferry Field
A new plaque honoring a former Ohio State athlete will be unveiled outside Ferry Field on the campus of the University of Michigan Thursday.
World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation, announced a World Athletics Heritage Plaque honoring the site where Jesse Owens broke four world records in a 45-minute span at the 1935 Big Ten Outdoor Track and Field Championships May 25, 1935.
This is cool, Michigan is hosting the Big Ten Track and Field meet this weekend and will unveil a new marker honoring Jesse Owens pic.twitter.com/FQJPDnwfm6
— Mark Kunz (@MarkAKunz) May 8, 2024
Owens won the 100-yard dash in a record-tying 9.4 seconds before adding six inches to the world-record long jump at 8.13. meters. Owens then ran 220 yards in 20.3 records and ran the 220-yard hurdles in 22.6 seconds for two other world records.
The Heritage Plague is awarded for "an outstanding contribution to the worldwide history and development of the sport of track & field athletics" the release states. The plaque will be unveiled prior to the start of the 2024 Big Ten Outdoor Track and Field Championships Thursday by Marlene Dortch, Owens' granddaughter, and representatives from both Ohio State and Michigan's track and field teams.
The Owens plaque will replace one given by the IAAF in 2018.
"What Jesse Owens, an icon not only of American sport but also American ideals, accomplished here with four world records in the span of 45 minutes in May of 1935 will never again be replicated," Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel said in a 2018 statement. "We are proud to have such hallowed grounds open to the public as part of our campus, where future generations can retrace in awe the steps of an American hero."
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Olympian, Ohio State legend Jesse Owens to have new plaque at Michigan