Jesse Owens at Berlin Olympics
Jesse Owens won four gold medals at the Berlin Olympics, defying Nazi racial ideology
August 03, 1936
Gold in Hitler's Olympics
The 1936 Summer Olympics were held in Berlin, Germany, and Adolf Hitler intended for them to showcase the supposed racial superiority of the Aryan people and the power of the Nazi state. Instead, a Black American athlete named Jesse Owens became the star of the games, winning four gold medals in the 100 meters, 200 meters, long jump, and 4x100 meter relay. Owens's performance was stunning in its completeness — he set or equaled three world records and one Olympic record. In the long jump, he was helped by German competitor Luz Long, who advised him on his approach run after Owens had fouled twice. The two became friends, corresponding until Long was killed in World War II.
Owens Steals the Show
The German crowd cheered Owens enthusiastically, and he was consistently treated with respect by German officials and spectators. The claim that Hitler snubbed Owens — refusing to shake his hand — is disputed by Owens himself, who said that Hitler acknowledged him with a wave. The more factual snub came from Owens's own country: President Franklin D. Roosevelt never sent a telegram, never invited Owens to the White House, and never publicly congratulated him. Owens later said that it was not Hitler but his own president who had ignored him. He returned to the United States to parades and adulation but still could not stay at hotels that served white guests or eat at the same restaurants.
A Legacy of Excellence
Jesse Owens's four gold medals in Berlin remain one of the greatest individual performances in Olympic history. His long jump record of 26 feet 5.25 inches set in Berlin stood as the Olympic record for 24 years. Owens became a global symbol of athletic excellence and of the falseness of racial superiority theories. He spent much of his later life as a motivational speaker and goodwill ambassador, though he struggled financially for periods of his life. A street in Berlin was named after him, and he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously. His story is inseparable from the complex history of race, sport, and politics in the 20th century.