Berlin 1936 Summer Olympics - results & video highlights Official Reports arrow Jesse Owens The Berlin Games are best remembered for Adolf Hitler’s failed attempt to use them to prove his theories of Aryan racial superiority. As it turned out, the most popular hero of the Games was the African-American sprinter and long jumper Jesse Owens, who won four gold medals in the 100m, 200m, 4x100m relay and long jump. Television coverage The 1936 Games were the first to be broadcast on television. Twenty-five television viewing rooms were set up in the Greater Berlin area, allowing the locals to follow the Games free of charge. Young Olympians Thirteen-year-old Marjorie Gestring of the US won the gold medal in springboard diving. She remains the youngest female gold medallist in the history of the Summer Olympic Games. Twelve-year-old Inge Sorensen of Denmark earned a bronze medal in the 200m breaststroke, making her the youngest medallist ever in an individual event. Debuts and firsts Basketball, canoeing and field handball all made their first appearances.

The Berlin Games also became the first to introduce the torch relay, in which a lighted torch is carried from Olympia in Greece to the site of the current Games. NOCs: 49 Athletes: 3,963 (331 women, 3,632 men) Events: 129 Media: n/a The symbol of fire These Games saw the introduction of the torch relay based on an idea by Dr Carl Diem. A lit torch was carried from Olympia to the site of the Games through seven countries- Greece, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Austria and Germany: a total journey of more than 3,000 km. Television coverage The 1936 Games were also the first to be broadcast on television. Twenty-five television viewing rooms were set up in the Greater Berlin area, allowing the locals to follow the Games free of charge. Leni Riefenstahl's official film « Olympia” is a film that is radically different from all those made about sport before it. The director chose to highlight the aesthetics of the body by filming it from every angle. This film brought about new perspectives in cinematography and still remains without equal.

The prizes Apart from medals, the athletes received a winner's crown and an oak tree in a pot. New on the programme For the first time, the programme included men's handball and basketball tournaments. Crowd More than four million tickets sold. Twelve years from Berlin to London As with World War I, the outbreak of hostilities, first in Japan and China and then in Europe, would make it impossible for the Games of the XII and XIII Olympiads to be held in 1940 and 1944 respectively. In fact, it would be 12 years before the Olympic flame would once again burn in an Olympic stadium, in London, in 1948. Ceremonies Berlin 1936. Arrival of the Olympic Flame at the Olympic Stadium. Official opening of the Games by: Chancellor Adolf Hitler Lighting the Olympic Flame by: Fritz Schilgen (athletics) Official Oath by: The officials' oath at an Olympic Summer Games was first sworn in 1972 in Munich.

It was created purely by chance- an artist, Johannes Boehland, started by designing an emblem containing the five Olympic rings with a superimposed eagle and the Brandenburg Gate, one of the symbols of the city. However, the President of the Games Organising Committee, Dr Lewald, was not satisfied with this composition and took the initiative to open the bottom part of the emblem, which turned the design into a bell. Although it was purely by chance that it was created, the symbolism of this figure was immediately recognised. On the side of the bell is the inscription “Ich rufe die Jugend der Welt!” (I call the youth of the world). The artist, Johannes Boehland, commissioned to continue designing the emblem on this theme. The definitive emblem was thus composed of the Olympic bell on which can be found the Olympic rings with the German eagle superimposed. As well as the Olympic rings, flame and oath, the bell became one of the strong and omnipresent symbols of the Berlin Games. On the obverse, the traditional goddess of victory, holding a palm in her left hand and a winner’s crown in her right.

A design used since the 1928 Games in Amsterdam, created by Florentine artist Giuseppe Cassioli (ITA -1865-1942) and chosen after a competition organised by the International Olympic Committee in 1921. For these Games, the picture of victory is accompanied by the specific inscription: ""XI. OLYMPIADE BERLIN 1936". On the reverse, an Olympic champion carried in triumph by the crowd, with the Olympic stadium in the background. N.B: From 1928 to 1968, the medals for the Summer Games were identical. The Organising Committee for the Games in Munich in 1972 broke new ground by having a different reverse which was designed by a Bauhaus representative, Gerhard Marcks. Number of torchbearers: 3 075 Total distance: 3 075 km (not including the special stages in Kiel and Grünau) Countries crossed: Greece, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Austria, Czechoslovakia, and Germany More info A competition was held for the design of the poster, but none of the entries were satisfactory.

The publicity committee commissioned different artists and finally chose the project of Mr Würbel, that became the official poster. It features the Quadriga from the Brandenburg Gate, a landmark of the city of Berlin. In the background is the figure of a wreathed victor, his arm raised in the Olympic salute, symbolising Olympic sport. 243,000 copies were made in 19 languages and it was distributed in 34 countries. “The XIth Olympic Games Berlin, 1936: official report” was the first official report to be produced in two volumes, which would subsequently become the norm. There was an English edition and a German edition. Jesse Owens wins 4 gold medals at 1936 Summer Olympics | World History Project Aug 3 1936 to Aug 9 1936 Jesse Owens wins 4 gold medals at 1936 Summer Olympics In 1936, Owens arrived in Berlin to compete for the United States in the Summer Olympics. Adolf Hitler was using the games to show the world a resurgent Nazi Germany.

He and other government officials had high hopes German athletes would dominate the games with victories (the German athletes achieved a top of the table medal haul). Meanwhile, Nazi propaganda promoted concepts of "Aryan racial superiority" and depicted ethnic Africans as inferior. Owens surprised many and showed the fallacies of racial supremacy by winning four gold medals: On August 3, 1936 he won the 100m sprint, defeating Ralph Metcalfe; on August 4, the long jump (later crediting friendly and helpful advice from Luz Long, the German competitor he ultimately defeated); on August 5, the 200m sprint; and, after he was added to the 4 x 100 m relay team, his fourth on August 9 (a performance not equaled until Carl Lewis won gold medals in the same events at the 1984 Summer Olympics). Just before the competitions Owens was visited in the Olympic village by Adi Dassler, the founder of Adidas. He persuaded Owens to use Adidas shoes and it was the first sponsorship for a male African-American athlete.

The long jump victory is documented, along with many other 1936 events, in the 1938 film Olympia by Leni Riefenstahl. On the first day, Hitler shook hands only with the German victors and then left the stadium. Olympic committee officials then insisted Hitler greet each and every medalist or none at all. Hitler opted for the latter and skipped all further medal presentations. On reports that Hitler had deliberately avoided acknowledging his victories, and had refused to shake his hand, Owens recounted: "When I passed the Chancellor he arose, waved his hand at me, and I waved back at him. I think the writers showed bad taste in criticizing the man of the hour in Germany."" He also stated: "Hitler didn't snub me—it was FDR who snubbed me. The president didn't even send me a telegram." Jesse Owens was never invited to the White House nor bestowed any honors by Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) or Harry S. Truman during their terms. In 1955, President Dwight D.

Eisenhower acknowledged Owens's accomplishments, naming him an "Ambassador of Sports." Hitler's contempt for Owens and for those races he deemed 'inferior' arose in private, away from maintaining Olympic neutrality. As Albert Speer, Hitler's architect and later war armaments minister recollected in his memoirs Inside the Third Reich: "Each of the German victories and there were a surprising number of these made him happy, but he was highly annoyed by the series of triumphs by the marvelous colored American runner, Jesse Owens. People whose antecedents came from the jungle were primitive, Hitler said with a shrug; their physiques were stronger than those of civilized whites and hence should be excluded from future games. Despite Hitler's feelings, Owens was cheered enthusiastically by 110,000 people in Berlin's Olympic Stadium and later ordinary Germans sought his autograph when they saw him in the streets. Owens was allowed to travel with and stay in the same hotels as whites, an irony at the time given that blacks in the United States were denied equal rights. After a New York ticker-tape parade in his honor, Owens had to ride the freight elevator to attend his own reception at the Waldorf-Astoria.

Source: Wikipedia Added by: Kevin Rogers It was the summer of 1936 and Nazism was running rampant throughout pre-World War II Eastern Europe. The Olympics were coming to Berlin and Adolf Hitler viewed it as a golden opportunity to showcase his country and prove to the rest of the world that his Aryan race was superior. Not so fast, Adolf. Twenty-two-year-old American Jesse Owens didn't care much for Hitler's politics—or any politics for that matter. He just wanted to show off his immense skills and represent his country to the best of his abilities. Just over a year earlier, on May 25, 1935, Owens recorded one of the more mind-boggling performances in track and field history. He broke three world records and tied another at the Big Ten Track and Field Championships in Michigan—in just 45 minutes! Hitler viewed African-Americans as inferior and chastised the United States for stooping to use these "non-humans." Despite the endless racial epithets and the constant presence of the red and black swastika, Owens made Hitler eat his words with four gold medals.

Owens Hits Gold The first gold was in the 100 meters, where Owens edged out teammate Ralph Metcalfe in a time of 10.3 seconds. Gold number two came in the long jump, where he fouled on his first two attempts. One was just a practice run where he continued down the runway into the pit, but German officials didn't buy it and counted it as a jump. Top German long jumper Luz Long suggested Owens play it safe and jump a few inches before the usual take-off spot. He took his advice and qualified for the finals, where he won the gold with a leap of 26—5½. And Long was there to congratulate him. "It took a lot of courage for him to befriend me in front of Hitler," Owens would later say. "You can melt down all the medals and cups I have and they wouldn't be a plating on the 24-karat friendship I felt for Luz Long at that moment." The third gold was in the 200-meter dash, where he defeated, among others, Jackie Robinson's older brother Mack and broke the Olympic record with a time of 20.7 seconds.

Gold number four was a controversial one—not with the Germans, but with his fellow Americans. American Jews Marty Glickman and Sam Stoller were supposed to run for the United States on the 4x100 relay team. At the last minute, they were replaced by Owens and Metcalfe and it was reported that Hitler asked U.S. officials not to embarrass him any further by having two Jews win gold in Berlin. Whether that's true or not, the Owens-led U.S. team rolled to victory in a world record time of 39.8 seconds and Owens' magical Olympics came to a close. While German officials denounced Owens, an overwhelming majority of the German fans treated him like a hero. In 1984, a street in Berlin was named in his honor. Source: Mike Morrison Added by: Kevin Rogers The Berlin Olympics of 1936 were held in Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany, and Hitler's Nazi Party used the event as a soapbox to promulgate the theory of "Aryan" racial superiority. Hitler was spectacularly shown up by Jesse Owens and other African American athletes, members of a so-called "inferior" race.

Despite the hostile atmosphere, Owens triumphed in the 100-meter dash, the 200-meter dash and the broad jump. He replaced a Jewish-American member of the 400-meter relay team that went on to win the Gold Medal. In three of his events, Owens -- who became the first American in the history of track and field to win four gold medals in a single Olympics, a feat not duplicated until 1984, when Carl Lewis won gold medals in the same events at the Warsaw Pact nations-free 1984 Summer Olympics) -- established Olympic records. Although Hitler did not shake his hand, by the end of the games, the German fans cheered for him. In fact, in his 1970 autobiography "The Jesse Owens Story", Owens claimed that the Fuhrer himself waved to him. Memorable Olympic Moments: Jesse Owens, 1936 Encyclopedia: Track & Field It was the summer of 1936 and Nazism was running rampant throughout pre- World War II Eastern Europe. The Olympics were coming to Berlin and Adolf Hitler viewed it as a golden opportunity to showcase his country and prove to the rest of the world that his Aryan race was superior.

Not so fast, Adolf. Twenty-two-year-old American Jesse Owens didn't care much for Hitler's politics—or any politics for that matter. He just wanted to show off his immense skills and represent his country to the best of his abilities. Just over a year earlier, on May 25, 1935, Owens recorded one of the more mind-boggling performances in track and field history. He broke three world records and tied another at the Big Ten Track and Field Championships in Michigan—in just 45 minutes! Hitler viewed African-Americans as inferior and chastised the United States for stooping to use these "non-humans." Despite the endless racial epithets and the constant presence of the red and black swastika, Owens made Hitler eat his words with four gold medals. Owens Hits Gold The first gold was in the 100 meters, where Owens edged out teammate Ralph Metcalfe in a time of 10.3 seconds. Gold number two came in the long jump, where he fouled on his first two attempts. One was just a practice run where he continued down the runway into the pit, but German officials didn't buy it and counted it as a jump.

Top German long jumper Luz Long suggested Owens play it safe and jump a few inches before the usual take-off spot. He took his advice and qualified for the finals, where he won the gold with a leap of 26—5½. And Long was there to congratulate him. "It took a lot of courage for him to befriend me in front of Hitler," Owens would later say. "You can melt down all the medals and cups I have and they wouldn't be a plating on the 24-karat friendship I felt for Luz Long at that moment." The third gold was in the 200-meter dash, where he defeated, among others, Jackie Robinson's older brother Mack and broke the Olympic record with a time of 20.7 seconds. Gold number four was a controversial one—not with the Germans, but with his fellow Americans. American Jews Marty Glickman and Sam Stoller were supposed to run for the United States on the 4x100 relay team. At the last minute, they were replaced by Owens and Metcalfe and it was reported that Hitler asked U.S. officials not to embarrass him any further by having two Jews win gold in Berlin.

Whether that's true or not, the Owens-led U.S. team rolled to victory in a world record time of 39.8 seconds and Owens' magical Olympics came to a close. While German officials denounced Owens, an overwhelming majority of the German fans treated him like a hero. In 1984, a street in Berlin was named in his honor. More from 2012 Summer Olympics Did you know? Jesse Owens: The athlete who won a record four Gold medals at the 1936 Olympics Athletics Jesse Owens: The athlete who won a record four Gold medals at the 1936 Olympics Jesse Owens became the first person to win four gold medals at an Olympics when he managed to do so at the 1936 edition in Berlin. Tribute 17 Sep 2015, 19:08 IST Jesse Owens at the start of the 100m dash at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin Jesse Owens , the son of a sharecropper and the grandson of a slave, achieved what no Olympian before him had accomplished.

His incredible achievement of four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic games in Berlin has made him the best remembered athlete in Olympic history. Although Adolf Hitler intended the 1936 Berlin Games to be a showcase for the Nazi ideology of Aryan racial supremacy , it would be a black man who left the biggest imprint on that year’s Games. In one of the greatest performances in Olympic history, Owens captured gold in the 100 meters, long jump, 200 meters and 4×100 meter relay, a feat that would not be matched until American Carl Lewis did the same at the 1984 Los Angeles Games. Showing promise in high school As a child, Owens was often sick from his battles with chronic bronchial congestion and pneumonia. Still, he was expected to work, and at the young age of seven he was picking up to 100 pounds of cotton a day to help his family put food on the table. At the age of 9, Owens moved with his family to Cleveland, Ohio, where the young "J.C." discovered a world far different than the slower, southern life he'd known. School proved to be one of the bigger changes.

Gone was the one-room schoolhouse he'd attended in Alabama, replaced by a bigger setting with stricter teachers. He was named James Cleveland Owens by his parents, and was fondly called ‘J.C.’ On his first day at Bolton Elementary School after moving to Cleveland at age 9, the teacher was unable to decipher his thick southern accent and thought he said his name was “Jesse” instead of ‘J.C.’ Owens was too shy to correct his new teacher in front of his new classmates, and he was called “Jesse” for the rest of his life. His promising athletic career began in 1928 in Cleveland, Ohio where he set Junior High School records by clearing 6 feet in the high jump, and leaping 22 feet 11 3/4 inches in the broad jump. During his high school days, he won all of the major track events, including the Ohio state championship three consecutive years.

At the National Interscholastic meet in Chicago, during his senior year, he set a new high school world record by running the 100 yard dash in 9.4 seconds to tie the accepted world record, and he created a new high school world record in the 220 yard dash by running the distance in 20.7 seconds. A week earlier he had set a new world record in the broad jump by jumping 24 feet 11 3/4 inches. Owens' sensational high school track career resulted in him being recruited by dozens of colleges. Owens chose the Ohio State University , even though OSU could not offer a track scholarship at the time. While smashing records for the Ohio State Buckeyes track team, he became known as the “Buckeye Bullet.” Although he was the first black man elected captain of an Ohio State varsity team, Owens was barred from living in the on-campus dormitory because of the color of his skin. An anecdote from the 1936 Olympics Owens was almost out of the Long Jump event after making two foul jumps, when a tall, blue-eyed and blonde German long jumper named Luz Long came along and introduced himself to the American.

He followed it up with a suggestion that Owens should make a mark several inches before the take-off board, and jump from there to just to play it safe. This advice proved fruitful for Owens , who managed to qualify. Long's fifth jump matched Owens' 25-10 during the finals, but Owens jumped 26-3¾ on his next attempt and won the gold medal with a final jump of 26-5½. The German was the first to congratulate Owens, who was expected to be a model Nazi but wasn’t one. Luz Long helped Jesse Owens qualify for the Long Jump event during the Berlin Olympics "It took a lot of courage for him to befriend me in front of Hitler. You can melt down all the medals and cups I have and they wouldn't be plating on the 24-karat friendship I felt for Luz Long at that moment. Hitler must have gone crazy watching us embrace.” “The sad part of the story is, I never saw Long again. He was killed in World War II." Owens would continue to correspond with Long's family even after his close friend’s death. Awards become corroded, friends gather no dust.

-Jesse Owens — Fitness Motivation (@Fitness_Sportss) September 9, 2015 Life post Olympics win Even though Owens helped the US clinch the Olympic Games , his return was not met with the kind of fanfare one would expect. President Franklin D. Roosevelt failed to meet with Owens and congratulate him, as was typical for champions. The athlete wouldn't be properly recognized until 1976, when President Gerald Ford awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom . Owens seemed not the least bit surprised by his home country's hypocrisy. "When I came back to my native country, after all the stories about Hitler, I couldn't ride in the front of the bus. I had to go to the back door. I couldn't live where I wanted.” “I wasn't invited to shake hands with Hitler, but I wasn't invited to the White House to shake hands with the president, either." Owens also did not have enough money to support his family despite winning four gold medals, and began to participate in stunt races against dogs, motorcycles and even horses during halftime of soccer matches and between doubleheaders of Negro League baseball games.

Owens would start 40 yards ahead of his equine competitors before sprinting for 100 yards, and he would often win by a nose. “People said it was degrading for an Olympic champion to run against a horse, but what was I supposed to do? I had four gold medals, but you can’t eat four gold medals.” – Jesse Owens Owens eventually found his calling in public relations and marketing, setting up a business for himself in Chicago, Illinois, and traveling frequently around the country to speak at conventions and other business gatherings. Jesse Owens, who smoked up to a pack of cigarettes a day for a good deal of his life, died of lung cancer in Tucson, Arizona, on March 31, 1980. President Carter’s best explained the kind of person Jesse Owens was with these amazing words . "Perhaps no athlete better symbolized the human struggle against tyranny, poverty and racial bigotry.

His personal triumphs as a world-class athlete and record holder were the prelude to a career devoted to helping others.” “His work with young athletes, as an unofficial ambassador overseas, and a spokesman for freedom are a rich legacy to his fellow Americans." African American Jesse Owens gold winning hero at the Summer Olympic Games in Berlin Germany in 1936 pic.twitter.com/BBK5VW5nWj â¼ — gallery pieces (@GALLERY_PIECES) September 5, 2015 We all have dreams, but to make dreams come true, it takes a lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline and effort. - Jesse Owens ESPN.com: Owens pierced a myth Owens pierced a myth By Larry Schwartz ESPN.com For most athletes, Jesse Owens' performance one spring afternoon in 1935 would be the accomplishment of a lifetime. In 45 minutes, he established three world records and tied another. Owens won four gold medals in the 1936 Olympics. But that was merely an appetizer for Owens. In one week in the summer of 1936, on the sacred soil of the Fatherland, the master athlete humiliated the master race.

Owens' story is one of a high-profile sports star making a statement that transcended athletics, spilling over into the world of global politics. Berlin, on the verge of World War II, was bristling with Nazism, red-and-black swastikas flying everywhere. Brown-shirted Storm Troopers goose-stepped while Adolf Hitler postured, harangued, threatened. A montage of evil was played over the chillingly familiar Nazi anthem: "Deutschland Uber Alles." This was the background for the 1936 Olympics. When Owens finished competing, the African-American son of a sharecropper and the grandson of slaves had single-handedly crushed Hitler's myth of Aryan supremacy. He gave four virtuoso performances, winning gold medals in the 100- and 200- meter dashes, the long jump and on America's 4x100 relay team. Score it: Owens 4, Hitler 0. A remarkably even-keeled and magnanimous human being, Owens never rubbed it in. Just as sure as he knew fascism was evil, he also knew his country had a ways to go too in improving life for African-Americans.

"When I came back to my native country, after all the stories about Hitler, I couldn't ride in the front of the bus," Owens said. "I had to go to the back door. I couldn't live where I wanted. I wasn't invited to shake hands with Hitler, but I wasn't invited to the White House to shake hands with the President, either." Owens wasn't complaining. That wasn't his style. He believed it was his job "to try to make things better." Born James Cleveland Owens on Sept. 12, 1913, in Oakville, Ala., he was often ill as a child, suffering from both chronic bronchial congestion and several bouts of pneumonia. Inadequate housing, food and clothing didn't help his health. By the age of seven he was expected to pick 100 pounds of cotton a day. At nine his family moved to Cleveland. When a teacher asked his name, he answered, "J.C.," which is what he was called. The teacher misunderstood his Southern drawl and the name was Jesse from then on.

As a teenager he set or tied national high school records in the 100- and 220-yard dashes and the long jump (called the broad jump then). At Ohio State, he was not a good student but he was easily the swiftest on the track. Two weeks before the 1935 Big Ten Championships, Owens was involved in some playful hi-jinks with his roommates. But the prank backfired and he slipped on water during his getaway, severely injuring his tailbone. On May 25 in Ann Arbor, Mich., Owens couldn't even bend over to touch his knees. But as the sophomore settled in for his first race, he said the pain "miraculously disappeared." 3:15 -- The "Buckeye Bullet" ran the 100-yard dash in 9.4 seconds to tie the world record. 3:25 -- In his only long jump, he leaped 26-8 1/4, a world record that would last 25 years. 3:34 -- His 20.3 seconds bettered the world record in the 220-yard dash.

4:00 -- With his 22.6 seconds in the 220-yard low hurdles, he became the first person to break 23 seconds in the event. Some credit Owens with setting five world records, saying he also beat the marks for the shorter 200 meters and 200-meter low hurdles. In his junior year at Ohio State, Owens competed in 42 events and won them all, including four in the Big Ten Championships, four in the NCAA Championships, two in the AAU Championships and three at the Olympic Trials. In Germany, the Nazis portrayed African-Americans as inferior and ridiculed the United States for relying on "black auxiliaries." One German official even complained that the Americans were letting "non-humans, like Owens and other Negro athletes," compete. But the German people felt otherwise. Crowds of 110,000 cheered him in Berlin's glittering Olympic Stadium and his autograph or picture was sought as he walked the streets. On Aug.

3, the 5-foot-10, 165-pound Owens won his first final, taking the 100 meters in 10.3, edging out Ralph Metcalfe, also an African-American. The next day, Owens was almost out of the long jump shortly after qualifying began. He fouled on his first two jumps, though he was stunned when officials counted a practice run down the runway and into the pit as an attempt. With one jump remaining, Luz Long, a tall, blue-eyed, blond German long jumper who was his stiffest competition, introduced himself. He suggested that Owens make a mark several inches before the takeoff board and jump from there to play it safe. Owens took the advice, and qualified. In the finals that afternoon, Long's fifth jump matched Owens' 25-10. But Owens leaped 26-3¾ on his next attempt and won the gold medal with a final jump of 26-5½. The first to congratulate the Olympic record holder was Long, who looked like the model Nazi but wasn't. "It took a lot of courage for him to befriend me in front of Hitler," Owens said.

"You can melt down all the medals and cups I have and they wouldn't be a plating on the 24-karat friendship I felt for Luz Long at that moment. Hitler must have gone crazy watching us embrace. The sad part of the story is I never saw Long again. He was killed in World War II." Owens, though, would continue to correspond with Long's family. In the 200-meter dash on August 5, Owens won in an Olympic record of 20.7 seconds, beating out Mack Robinson, the older brother of Jackie Robinson. That was supposed to be the end of Owens' Olympic participation. But from out of the blue, Owens and Metcalfe replaced Marty Glickman and Sam Stoller, the only Jews on the U.S. track team, on the 4x100-meter relay. The rumor was that the Nazi hierarchy had asked U.S. officials not to humiliate Germany further by using two Jews to add to the gold medals the African-Americans already had won. Glickman blamed U.S. Olympic Committee president Avery Brundage for acquiescing to the Nazis.

ZONE POLL On August 9, the 4x100 relay team, with Owens running leadoff, won by 15 yards and its world-record time of 39.8 seconds would last 20 years. Upon Owens' return to New York and a ticker-tape parade, he had to ride the freight elevator to a reception in his honor at the Waldorf-Astoria. He was treated as a kind of curiosity. When endorsements didn't come his way, he made money by, among other activities, running against horses and dogs. "People said it was degrading for an Olympic champion to run against a horse, but what was I supposed to do?" Owens said. "I had four gold medals, but you can't eat four gold medals." Not until the fifties did he achieve financial security, becoming a public speaker for corporations and opening a public-relations firm. In a 1950 Associated Press poll, he was voted the greatest track and field star for the first half of century, outpolling Jim Thorpe by almost three to one. In 1976, President Ford presented Owens with the Medal of Freedom, the highest honor the U.S. can bestow upon a civilian.

Owens, a-pack-a-day smoker for 35 years, died of lung cancer at age 66 on March 31, 1980 in Tucson, Ariz. Four years later, a street in Berlin was renamed in his honor. A decade after his death, President Bush posthumously awarded Owens the Congressional Medal of Honor. Bush called his victories in Berlin "an unrivaled athletic triumph, but more than that, a triumph for all humanity." Jesse OWENS - Olympic Athletics | United States of America Jesse OWENS Jesse Owens became a sporting legend for his achievements at the 1936 Berlin Games. Sporting history In 1935, Jesse Owens made sporting history when he broke five world records and equalled a sixth in the space of 45 minutes. One of these world records, 8.13m in the long jump, would last for 25 years. Berlin 1936 At the 1936 Berlin Games, Owens won four gold medals, in the 100m, 200m, 4x100m relay and the long jump.

He managed to break or equal nine Olympic records and also set three world records. One of those world records was in the 4x100m relay. The quartet set a time that wouldn’t be bettered for 20 years. Defying Hitler Adolf Hitler hoped that the 1936 Berlin Games would prove his theory of Aryan racial superiority. Instead, Owens’ achievements led the people of Berlin to hail him, an African-American, as a hero. Posthumous honours Jesse Owens died of lung cancer in 1980. Since then a street and a school have been named after him in Berlin, two US postage stamps have been issued in his honour, and a memorial park has been opened in Alabama, amongst other tributes. Jesse Owens 1936 Olympic gold medal that enraged Hitler up for auction | Daily Mail Online comments An Olympic gold medal won by Jesse Owens at the infamous 1936 Berlin games is up for auction. The American track star’s domination of multiple events infuriated German Chancellor Adolf Hitler and made him a star. Mr Owens won four gold medals and set a record in the 100-yard dash during those Olympics.

Scroll down for video Defiance in the face of evil: From left, Japan's Naoto Tajima (bronze), American Jesse Owens (gold), and Germany's Luz Long (silver) giving a Nazi salute ‘Almost singlehandedly, Owens obliterated Hitler's plans,’ SCP Auctions partner Dan Imler said. ‘You've got an African American, son of a sharecropper, grandson of slaves who overcame these incredible circumstances and delivered a performance for the ages,’ he added. Despite his legendary performance, Mr Owens was unable to find work, and even gifted one of his gold medals to dancer and movie star Bill ‘Bojangles’ Robinson out of gratitude for helping him find work. ‘They formed a friendship and also a professional relationship,’ said Mr Imler.

‘Bojangles helped Owens get work in the entertainment field.’ Record setter: Jesse Owens (r) breaks the tape to win gold in the 100-meter dash in a record time of 10.3 seconds A piece of history: One of Jesse Owens' four gold medals won at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin is up for auction Ever-present: Adolf Hitler opens the 1936 Summer Games in Berlin Dominance: MR Owens is shown winning one of the 200-meter heats by a large margin Mr Owens worked as a band leader before soon returning home to work for Cleveland’s parks department. Mr Robinson’s widow’s estate provided the medal for the auction, which is online only. The whereabouts of the other three original gold medals is unknown. RELATED ARTICLES Share this article Share Mr Owens arrived at the 1936 Olympics as one of many objects of scorn of the hateful dictator Mr Hitler. The Nazi leader had grand visions of organizing the games to be a showcase of the superior genes and talent possessed by Aryans. The Germans won a total of 89 medals, the United States’ 56 were second, but it was Mr Owens’ performance that made the German leader throw fits.

A star is born: Mr Owens leaps to gold and sets a world record in the running board jump (left) and works out before a race (right) Epic: Jesse Owens competes in one of the heats of the 200-meter run at the 1936 Olympic Games He left a hero: Mr Owens won four gold medals under what had to be trying circumstances Mr Owens literally ran circles around the Germans – and roughshod over everyone else en route to his four medals. ‘The black community revered him for what he had accomplished,’ daughter Marlene Owens Rankins, 74, said. The auction ends December 7. Jesse Owens Poses With Gold Medals Pictures | Getty Images Jesse Owens Poses With Gold Medals January 01, 1955 License American track and field athlete Jesse Owens (1913 - 1980) smiles as he poses with...American track and field athlete Jesse Owens (1913 - 1980) smiles as he poses with the four gold medals he won at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, late 1950s. LessMore

Question: Jesse Owens, who won four gold medals at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany, represented which country?
Answer: USA