Today is the birthday of Jesse Owens, the American sports legend who carved his niche in history by being the first man to win 4 Gold Medals in an Athletics event of Olympics, a record which stayed unbroken for a long time to come. He is also remembered for another reason, for driving a nail on German Nazi Fuehrer Adolf Hitler's misplaced belief in Aryan supremacy theory.
88 summers ago the 1936 Olympics, world's greatest sporting event was eventful for few reasons. First, it was held in Berlin under Hitler's Germany, being overshadowed by the blatant use of the Sporting events for Nazi party's German supremacy propaganda. Second, it was also the first Olympics to be televised. Third, it also showcased the talent of Jesse Owens, the famous black athlete from the United States who seized the limelight, overcoming myriads of obstacles in an insecure, pressure cooker atmosphere to win 4 golds.
Jesse Owens was an American icon, a symbol of black power in the Sporting arena. Growing up in an era of racism in America, he battled poverty with a wonderful rags to riches successful life story. Hailing from a poor family in the post recession America, no one ever imagined him winning accolades in the land of "Hail Hitler", bringing a dent in the dictator's theory of Aryan supremacy.
Jesse Owens's talent was spotted during his tenure in the Ohio State University, where he created record in the 100 meter sprint event. Soon he was a shoo in for the American Olympics team, selected for the mega event across the Atlantic.
The preparation for Berlin Olympics started on a controversial note, with America almost boycotting the event due to the host's overtly anti-Semitic policies. Germany was desperate to see American athletes at home, for without the USA participatation the Olympics would be akin to a German Bratwurst sausage without salt and Sauerkraut without sugar. After a lot of lobbying by Hitler's Man Friday Goebbels the US Olympics Committee narrowly voted to send their team.
On arrival at the Olympic village in that eventful summer of 1936, Jesse Owens was appalled at the disgusting sight of anti Semitic graffitis all over the Olympic village proclaiming - "Dogs and Jews are not allowed". The fitting finale came in the form of 100 meters event, still a prized event in the Olympics which every one looks forward to. Jesse Owens was pitted against the local favorite Lutz Lung of Germany - the symbol of Hitler's Aryan racial supremacy.
Jesse not only won that race, he went on to win 200 meters, led 4x100 meter relay for an American gold and the long jump event, yet again defeating Lutz Lung in the later event. (Jesse and Lutz became friends and continued communicating with letters in an age sans email and Whatsapp, until Lung died fighting for Germany in North Africa during World War II).
Hitler was in the stadium, watching Jesse sprint his way to a stupendous win. Here is where historians differ in their accounts about what followed. The Fuehrer supposedly left the stadium in disgust as his myth of Aryan supremacy was shattered. But per Jesse Owens knowldege, Hitler acknowledged his victory by waving at him.
On the other hand, after coming back to America, during a felicitation dinner for the US Olympics team in New York, Jesse Owens along with other black athletes had to use the service elevator, whereas their white counterparts took the regular one. The humiliation didn't end there. It was customary for the Olympics medal winners to be invited to the White House. But Jesse's name was conspicuously missing from the names of the invitees. Roosevelt didn't want to be in news hosting, baking bread with a black man in White House, his picture of shaking hands with a black man getting published on the front of newspapers in an election year. Incidentally Roosevelt was a Democrat.
What happened to Jesse after that ? He continued earning money as appearance fee, running against race horses for the pleasure of spectators, until he became too old to do so. Yet his record of 4 fabulous Olympics Golds was a record which stood for almost half a century, never broken during his lifetime, only to be emulated by his compatriot Carl Lewis in Los Angeles Olympics of 1984, four years after Jesse's death in 1980. Happy Birthday Jesse Owens. You will remain a Sporting legend and will forever be remembered.
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