In 1936 in Berlin, Hitler hoped to use the Games to tout so-called Aryan racial superiority. Black American Jesse Owens won four gold medals, blunting Hitler’s propaganda.
Along the way, he tied the world record of 10.3 seconds in the 100-meter dash; set new Olympic records of 20.7 seconds in the 200-meter race, and 26 feet, 5 1/4 inches in the long jump; and he ran the first leg in the finals of the 400-meter relay, an event in which his team set a new world and Olympic record of 39.8 seconds.
His triumphs before a worldwide audience were serendipitous; Germanyâs leader, Adolf Hitler, who had been widely condemned before the Games for his anti-Semitic policies, openly anticipated a great showing of Aryan athletic supremacy. With his victories in track and field, Owens had proved the Nazi dictatorâs racist theories wrong, and in doing so, had become not only an Olympic gold medal winner but an American hero.
MILITARY HISTORY SOCIETY OF ROCHESTER
ROCHESTERMILITARY.COM
