Jordan Anthony Joins Jesse Owens in Legacy of Champions

Jordan Anthony Joins Jesse Owens in Legacy of Champions
By Cathy Chance Harvey
The year 2026 marks not only the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence but also the 100th anniversary of the national celebration of Black history. In February 1926 American historian and founder of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), Carter G. Woodson, Ph.D., (1875-1950), established “Negro History Week” to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. While celebrations with a week-long focus occurred annually thereafter, it was not until 1976 that President Gerald R. Ford officially recognized February as Black History Month to honor the often-neglected accomplishments of Black Americans. As stated on the ASALH website, the nation is “now at a moment when we are celebrating a century of Black History Commemorations—50 years of Negro History Week and 50 years of Black History Month.”
The official theme for Black History Month 2026 in the U.S. is appropriately named “A Century of Black History Commemorations.” The theme explores the role of these celebrations in “shaping identity, fostering pride, and advancing equality” for the Black community (https://bnaacc.illinois.edu/), including the evolution of Black participation in sports. Indeed, sports is a key category as it has played a pivotal role in social, cultural and political advancement of Black Americans (https://asalh.org/).
Among the trailblazers is legendary Jesse Owens (1913-1980), a track and field athlete who competed in the 1936 Olympic games in Berlin and became the first American to win four gold medals in a single Olympiad, setting Olympic records in each event. Owens’ victories in Nazi Germany became a powerful statement against racism and discrimination.
According to the UK’s Black History Month website, Owens became known for both his athletic triumphs and his friendship with Aryan German competitor Luz Long, which broke down “social barriers in the face of Hitler’s Nazi regime.” The two athletes corresponded for years, with Owens saying that their “24-karat friendship” was more valuable than his gold medals (see “Jesse: A Spiritual Autobiography,” 1978). This friendship sprang from Owen’s belief that people should show love to their “enemies” and allow faith to break down barriers and build “bridges of peace.”
Owens famously prayed before competitions. An apocryphal story has it that Luz Long observed Owens during the 1936 Olympics with his “knee upon the ground” in prayer, a moment which later led Long to express his own developing belief in God. Long was killed in Sicily in 1943 during the Allied invasion. It is a fact that Owens later visited Long’s son and was best man at his wedding ( https://ww2history.org/at-war/the-friendship-of-american-jesse-owens).
Jesse Owens was born in Oakville, Alabama, the son of a sharecropper, and grew up in extreme poverty. He suffered from hunger as a child, a traumatic experience that drove him to pursue, and find solace in, running as a way to rise above his circumstances.
When he was nine years old, his family moved to Cleveland, Ohio, seeking better opportunities. According to biographer William J. Baker, when Owens’ new teacher asked his name to enter in the roll book, he answered, “J.C.” Because of his Southern drawl, she thought he said “Jesse.” The name stuck, and he was known as Jesse Owens from then on.
Throughout his life Owens attributed his athletic success to the encouragement of Charles Riley, his junior high school track coach at Fairmount Junior High School in Cleveland. Coach Riley recognized Owens’ talent, mentored him, and fostered his skills prior to high school. At Cleveland East Technical High School, Owens broke the national high school record in the 200-yard dash with 20.7 seconds and tied the world record in the 100-yard dash with 9.4 seconds (http://www.jesseowens.com/biography/).
At Ohio State University Owens won a record eight individual NCAA championships, four each in 1935 and 1936. His record of eight individual NCAA titles has not been broken (https://coachesinsider.com/track-x-country/courage-jesse-owens/).
As it happens, the NCAA Men’s Track and Field Championships is celebrating an anniversary also. Since 1921—over a century ago—the NCAA Championships has brought together some of the most talented athletes in collegiate sports. These athletes, including Jackie Robinson (1940 long jump) and DeHart Hubbard (1925 long jump and first Black athlete to win an NCAA championship), excelled at their respective events, and some, like Jesse Owens, paved their way to Olympic glory (https://www.oreateai.com/blog).
In 2025 Tylertown High School graduate Jordan Anthony joined the roster of NCAA track and field champions when he won the 60m Indoor Championship at 6.49s and 100m Outdoor Championship at 10.07s. He was the first sprinter since 2017 to sweep both titles in the same calendar year. In December 2025 he was named the winner of the Bowerman award, the top NCAA honor.
Jordan’s friends call him “J,” and it is interesting to note he has a few things in common with the other “J,” fellow NCAA champion, J.C., or Jesse, Owens. Jordan was born in Palmdale, California, near Los Angeles, and like Owens, at a young age he moved with his family to a new location, only for Jordan it was to the South, not away from it.
Jordan has alluded to a challenging upbringing marked by limited resources, which motivated him the way it did Jesse Owens. In a May 2025 interview with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Jordan said, “Me being around people from Mississippi, being at the bottom, just like living at the bottom, just like nobody looking at you.” It was an invisibility of being overlooked and underestimated, and Jordan sought to define himself: “Nobody caring and just like nobody expecting you to come out here and really showcase what you got.”
Jordan showcased his talents at Tylertown High School by setting multiple Mississippi high school track records. He established the state all-time 100m record with a 10.23s run in May 2021, and later achieved a personal best of 10.14s and a 200m record of 20.35s, becoming the fastest high school sprinter in Mississippi history. Like Jesse Owens before him, Jordan had the benefit of high school coaches who recognized his talent and fostered his development, including, among others, Coach Myreon Sartin, now assistant track and field coach at USM, and mentor Coach Dewayne Dillon. Coach Sartin, head track and field coach for Tylertown from 2014-2023, transitioned Jordan from jumps to becoming a dedicated sprinter and is credited with coaching him to multiple state titles. “Shout out to that man,” Jordan has said. “I still talk to him to this day” (Arkansas Democrat Gazette, May 2025).
Jordan’s tough-as-nails mentality is tempered by a spirituality grounded in Christian faith. In his senior year, his father died, just weeks before he could tell him that he had committed to the University of Kentucky. (Later, in 1924, Jordan landed at the University of Arkansas as a dual-sport athlete in track and footfall.) On April 19, 2025, Jordan won the Elite 100m at the Mt. Sac Relays in Walnut, CA, in 9.98s, making him the third fastest in the world that season. Jordan had grown up in southern California, so the race was a kind of homecoming for him. Reflecting on the race, Jordan said, “My aunt passed a couple of days ago, so I really just dedicated it to her, running out here” (https://www.wholehogsports.com/news/2025/apr/20). Memories of his father and aunt continue to motivate Jordan to focus and work hard.
Not unlike Jesse Owens, Jordan will, before a race, center himself with prayerful entreaty. He closes his eyes and talks to his father and aunt: “Your baby boy is on track again. Watch over me. Make sure no hurt, harm, danger come near me or my teammates and we’re going to come here and put on a show for you” (Arkansas Times Gazette, May 2025).
The titles that Jordan has won over the last five years are too numerous to list here. Some notable wins include the Gatorade Mississippi Track and Field Player of the Year Award for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons; SEC Champion, securing titles in the 60 m, and the outdoor 100m and 200m; setting program records at the University of Arkansas for the 60 m (6.47s) in the 2025 NCAA indoor semifinals and the 100m (9.7s) in the May 2025 NCAA West First Round in College Station, TX, making Jordan the ninth fastest runner in the history of the world. Jordan’s performance stands as the fastest 100m time in NCAA postseason history under any conditions.
After the 1936 Olympics, Jesse Owens, the “Buckeye Bullet,” left Ohio State University before finishing his degree to pursue financial opportunities. Likewise, Jordan Anthony, our own “Sippi Fast,” decided after winning the 2025 NCAA 100m Championship to turn pro. He recently made his pro track debut at the 2026 New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, finishing third in the 60m dash with a time of 5.57 seconds. He continues to train in Florida in preparation for the 2028 Summer Olympic Games.
Just before the 1936 Berlin Olympiad began, Adi Dassler, founder of the Adidas athletic shoe company, visited Jesse Owens in the Olympic village and persuaded him to wear Gebruder Dassler Schuhfabrik shoes, innovative spiked track shoes (http://in.rediff.com/sports/2005/). This was the first sponsorship for a Black American athlete. Which famous athletic shoe company is now sponsoring Jordan Anthony? Adidas, of course!