In August of 1936, the Olympics were held in Berlin, Germany, during the pre-WWII rise of Adolf Hitler. This Olympic event was being used by the Nazis - and Hitler in particular - to show the world the strength of Nazi Ger-many and the superiority of the Aryan race. The athletes from the United States arrived, with Jesse Owens among them, who would render the Berlin Olympics memorable indeed, though not in a way that pleased the Fuhrer.
Between August 3rd and August 9th, Jesse Owens would win 4 gold medals, in the 100m sprint, the 200m sprint, the long jump and the 4x100m relay. The four-medal performance would not be matched again in the Olympic Games until Carl Lewis (in the same four events) in 1984.
Ironically, before the Berlin Games began, Owens was visited in the Olympic village by Adi Dassler, the German founder of the Adidas athletic shoe company. Owens was persuaded to use Adidas shoes, thus becoming the first product sponsor for a black male athlete.
The irony of the Berlin performance would continue for Owens in its aftermath. Being an election year in the US, then-President FDR decided against honoring - or even personally contacting - Owens, out of fear of los-ing the southern vote in his reelection bid. Owens was quoted as saying, "Hitler didn't snub me - it was FDR who snubbed me. The president didn't even send me a telegram." It wasn't until 1955 that then-president Dwight Eisenhower honored Jesse Owens by naming him an "Ambassador of Sports."
And in a final stroke of irony, the athlete Owens died in 1979 from lung cancer, as a result of his pack-a-day smoking habit.
Between August 3rd and August 9th, Jesse Owens would win 4 gold medals, in the 100m sprint, the 200m sprint, the long jump and the 4x100m relay. The four-medal performance would not be matched again in the Olympic Games until Carl Lewis (in the same four events) in 1984.
Ironically, before the Berlin Games began, Owens was visited in the Olympic village by Adi Dassler, the German founder of the Adidas athletic shoe company. Owens was persuaded to use Adidas shoes, thus becoming the first product sponsor for a black male athlete.
The irony of the Berlin performance would continue for Owens in its aftermath. Being an election year in the US, then-President FDR decided against honoring - or even personally contacting - Owens, out of fear of los-ing the southern vote in his reelection bid. Owens was quoted as saying, "Hitler didn't snub me - it was FDR who snubbed me. The president didn't even send me a telegram." It wasn't until 1955 that then-president Dwight Eisenhower honored Jesse Owens by naming him an "Ambassador of Sports."
And in a final stroke of irony, the athlete Owens died in 1979 from lung cancer, as a result of his pack-a-day smoking habit.
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