Wow! A true American patriot and hero. He was awarded his first gold medal on August 3, 1936.
My mother attended those Olympic Games in Berlin in 1936 with her parents. She was 9 years old. Her Father had won the trip through a B.F. Goodrich national tire selling contest. They drove to New York where they boarded an ocean liner, with their car, and sailed to Europe. In 1955 my mother met Jesse Owens at a fundraising event for the US Olympic team. She had worn her 1936 Olympic pin which Mr. Owens recognized. “You were there?” he ask. “Yes, and you were magnificent!”, she replied. My sister has the photo of our mother being hugged by this marvelous champion at that event.
There is this interesting story from the 1936 Olympics.
“The story or rather the friendship of Jesse Owens, the black American athlete and four-time Olympic champion and Germany’s Luz Long gives a powerful message for humanity from the realm of sport.
Olympic is a symbol of unity, peace and camaraderie.
But a certain Hitler through the Berlin Olympic 1936 (also known as Nazi Olympic) wanted to send across a message that the “Aryan Race” is supreme over other races.
Despite the hostile environment, Jesse Owens won the 100m and on August 4, 1936, he contested in the long jump event.
However, during qualification, Owens was disqualified twice. This left him with only one remaining jump to ensure that he reached the final later in the day.
At this crucial juncture, he met Luz Long, the German long jumper – 1.84 m tall, blue-eyed and blond – and of course the epitome of ‘German Aryan’ race.
Long went to him and told him to try to jump from a spot several inches behind the take-off board.
Since Owens routinely made distances far greater than the minimum of 7.15 m required to advance, Long proposed that Owens would be able to advance safely to the next round without risking a foul trying to push for a greater distance.
On his third qualifying jump, Owens was calm and jumped with at least four inches to spare, easily qualifying for the finals.
Later that afternoon, Owens won the gold medal while Long stood in second place and was the first to congratulate Owens.
They posed together for photos and walked arm-in-arm in front of Adolf Hitler.
Film director Leni Riefenstahl was given the assignment to capture German superlative performances in the Olympic.
Ironically, Riefenstahl captured the most iconic image that of Ownes and Long walking arm-in-arm not to mention Owens’ long jump victory.
They remained friends till Long’s passing away during World War II.
Hitler with his propaganda tactics tried to succeed in 1936 but failed.
However, even after more than eight decades later, we are fighting over racism, meaning – homo sapiens are slow to evolve.
Therefore, it is pertinent for us to revisit history and to retell the story of Owens and Long, who were supposed to be rivals but their friendship remains a lesson for generations to emulate.”
That is such a great story. In his book “My Greatest Olympic Prize” by Jesse Owens, the title refers to Owens’ friendship with Carl Ludwig (Luz) Long. Long died in July, 1943 from injuries received during the Allied invasion of Sicily.
On a more somber note, I’ve read (or else watched a documentary — who remembers?) where Jesse Owens was quoted as saying that Hitler (grudgingly, but diplomatically) gave him more congratulations than even FDR did (Owens was not invited to the White House with the other Olympic winners). This, from Owens’s own mouth, is pretty damning.
A month after the Olympic Games, Owens told a crowd, “Hitler didn’t snub me—it was [Roosevelt] who snubbed me. The president didn’t even send me a telegram.” Roosevelt never publicly acknowledged Owens’s triumphs—or the triumphs of any of the 18 African Americans who competed at the Berlin Olympics. Only white Olympians were invited to the White House in 1936. A number of explanations have been offered for the president’s actions. Most likely, Roosevelt did not want to risk losing the support of Southern Democrats by appearing overly soft on the race issue. The black Olympians who competed in Berlin were not recognized by the White House until 2016, when Pres. Barack Obama invited the athletes’ relatives to an event in celebration of their lives and accomplishments.
It’s because they don’t give them laurel wreaths anymore isn’t it?
Nothing gets by me.
A laurel wreath . . . and a hearty handshake
Wow! A true American patriot and hero. He was awarded his first gold medal on August 3, 1936.
My mother attended those Olympic Games in Berlin in 1936 with her parents. She was 9 years old. Her Father had won the trip through a B.F. Goodrich national tire selling contest. They drove to New York where they boarded an ocean liner, with their car, and sailed to Europe. In 1955 my mother met Jesse Owens at a fundraising event for the US Olympic team. She had worn her 1936 Olympic pin which Mr. Owens recognized. “You were there?” he ask. “Yes, and you were magnificent!”, she replied. My sister has the photo of our mother being hugged by this marvelous champion at that event.
!
There is this interesting story from the 1936 Olympics.
“The story or rather the friendship of Jesse Owens, the black American athlete and four-time Olympic champion and Germany’s Luz Long gives a powerful message for humanity from the realm of sport.
Olympic is a symbol of unity, peace and camaraderie.
But a certain Hitler through the Berlin Olympic 1936 (also known as Nazi Olympic) wanted to send across a message that the “Aryan Race” is supreme over other races.
Despite the hostile environment, Jesse Owens won the 100m and on August 4, 1936, he contested in the long jump event.
However, during qualification, Owens was disqualified twice. This left him with only one remaining jump to ensure that he reached the final later in the day.
At this crucial juncture, he met Luz Long, the German long jumper – 1.84 m tall, blue-eyed and blond – and of course the epitome of ‘German Aryan’ race.
Long went to him and told him to try to jump from a spot several inches behind the take-off board.
Since Owens routinely made distances far greater than the minimum of 7.15 m required to advance, Long proposed that Owens would be able to advance safely to the next round without risking a foul trying to push for a greater distance.
On his third qualifying jump, Owens was calm and jumped with at least four inches to spare, easily qualifying for the finals.
Later that afternoon, Owens won the gold medal while Long stood in second place and was the first to congratulate Owens.
They posed together for photos and walked arm-in-arm in front of Adolf Hitler.
Film director Leni Riefenstahl was given the assignment to capture German superlative performances in the Olympic.
Ironically, Riefenstahl captured the most iconic image that of Ownes and Long walking arm-in-arm not to mention Owens’ long jump victory.
They remained friends till Long’s passing away during World War II.
Hitler with his propaganda tactics tried to succeed in 1936 but failed.
However, even after more than eight decades later, we are fighting over racism, meaning – homo sapiens are slow to evolve.
Therefore, it is pertinent for us to revisit history and to retell the story of Owens and Long, who were supposed to be rivals but their friendship remains a lesson for generations to emulate.”
That is such a great story. In his book “My Greatest Olympic Prize” by Jesse Owens, the title refers to Owens’ friendship with Carl Ludwig (Luz) Long. Long died in July, 1943 from injuries received during the Allied invasion of Sicily.
On a more somber note, I’ve read (or else watched a documentary — who remembers?) where Jesse Owens was quoted as saying that Hitler (grudgingly, but diplomatically) gave him more congratulations than even FDR did (Owens was not invited to the White House with the other Olympic winners). This, from Owens’s own mouth, is pretty damning.
Let’s see. FDR… Democrat. Well say. No. More!
A month after the Olympic Games, Owens told a crowd, “Hitler didn’t snub me—it was [Roosevelt] who snubbed me. The president didn’t even send me a telegram.” Roosevelt never publicly acknowledged Owens’s triumphs—or the triumphs of any of the 18 African Americans who competed at the Berlin Olympics. Only white Olympians were invited to the White House in 1936. A number of explanations have been offered for the president’s actions. Most likely, Roosevelt did not want to risk losing the support of Southern Democrats by appearing overly soft on the race issue. The black Olympians who competed in Berlin were not recognized by the White House until 2016, when Pres. Barack Obama invited the athletes’ relatives to an event in celebration of their lives and accomplishments.