Jesse Owens and the 1936 Olympics in Berlin

But Owens was almost deprived of the Games as the American government who condemned Hitler’s discriminatory policy decided to boycott the Games before a debate started between politicians and athletes who insisted on taking part in the competition.

As far as he was concerned Jesse Owens finally decided to go to Berlin and defend the colours of his country. And he was very right for he won four gold medals in the following disciplines:

• the 100-meter dash (Ralph Metcalfe was second again)
• the long jump (he beat German champion Luz Long)
• the 200-meter dash
• the 4x100 relay

He became the first American to win four gold medals in a single Olympics, and he helped defeat the German regime since the USA received 25 medals (14 gold) and Germany 16 (5 gold). As a result Hitler refused to congratulate the athletes as early as the second day of competition. But the crowd was very enthusiast and numerous fans wanted to see Jesse Owens win. This was maybe his greatest victory for even if he did not stop Hitler and his follies he stole the spotlight from his host, he the black man in a country where the Aryan race was the only race which mattered.

Jesse Owens was not afraid to go to Berlin and defy the Nazi regime during the 1936 Olympics at a time when segregation and racism reached their peak. He was an athlete who proved the world that a coloured man could be as good, even better than a white man. His feats showed that no classification must be established between races. Even with the eyes of the world upon him and a lot of pressure on his shoulders, he managed to win on all counts. He was an example for the future generations, not only in sport (Jackie Robinson, Carl Lewis...) but also in the domain of social issues that America would have to face later. Indeed, we can consider that he probably helped the Civil Rights movement to arise in the 1960s.