US athlete Jesse Owens crossing the finish line to win the 100 metre and setting a new world record at the Berlin Olympics in 1936. Photo: B/W ONLY/STR / AFP
Two oak trees have been planted in Zurich's Circle Park in honour of US sprint legend and 1936 Olympic champion Jesse Owens.
The ceremony took place on the eve of the World Athletics Diamond League Final.
The Diamond League website said Owens' grandchildren planted the saplings to honour both their grandfather's legacy and the next generation of world-changing athletes.
The trees were planted as part of the 2025 Jesse Owens Rising Star Award, which is presented by the Owens family and the Jesse Owens Foundation each year at the final of the Diamond League.
It is awarded to one male and one female winner aged 23 or under, the same age Owens was when he won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin.
American Owens' gold medals in the 100 metre, 200m, long jump and 100m relay, was a direct snub to the Aryan beliefs of the ruling Nazi party at the time.
Each winner also had an oak tree planted in their honour, in reference to Owens' success at the Berlin Olympics.
Alongside their gold medals, each Olympic champion at the 1936 Games received an oak sapling from the German organising committee.
Owens received four saplings, one of which he planted in the grounds of his high school.
A descendant of that oak tree was also planted outside the Jesse Owens Museum in Oakville, Alabama.
Plates with the winners of the Olympic games in 1936 at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin. Includes Jack Lovelock of New Zealand. Photo: DANIEL KALKER / AFP
New Zealand's Jack Lovelock won the men's 1500m at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
His oak sapling was planted at Timaru Boys High School, his old school.
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