Jesse Owens International Trophy

The Jesse Owens International Trophy is an annual sports award that is given out by the International Athletic Association (IAA), named after Olympic sprinter Jesse Owens.[a] It has been awarded annually since 1981, with the exception of a ten-year break from 2004 to 2014.[1] In 2002 and 2003, it was briefly renamed "American-International Athlete Trophy" before it returned to its original name.[2]

The award was created and promoted by Herb Douglas, American long jumper and Olympic silver medalist in 1948. Douglas was inspired by Jesse Owens and founded the IAA.[3] After the pause due to Douglas' old age, former Penn Quakers football player Wesley E. Smith became chairman of the International Athletic Association and rebooted the award.[4]

There is a separate and unrelated annual track and field award called the Jesse Owens Award given out by USA Track & Field since 1981.


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  1. ^ "Usain Bolt, Messi, Phelps, LeBron among finalists for Prestigious Jesse Owens International Award". TrackAlerts. January 28, 2014. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
  2. ^ "Jesse Owens' Olympic Gold Medal". Southeastern Antiquing and Collecting Magazine. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference r96 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference r14 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).